Chasing the Copper Waves
by Silverred89
Summary: During a Quidditch game, Oliver Wood witnesses something rather frightening. He can't help but try to aid Tessa, a Ravenclaw with copper hair and a terrifying problem.
1. Quidditch Thoughts

Sorry about the short chapters... They'll get longer, I promise!

And remember, reviewers get cookies!

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><p>The rest of his team stood behind him: three Chasers, Angelina Johnson, Alicia Spinnet, and Katie Bell. Two new beaters, the twins Fred and George Weasley. And his brand-new Seeker, Robin Hedes.<p>

Oliver Wood felt a twinge of nervousness as he strode out onto the Quidditch field. This was his first year as captain of the Gryffindor team, and Robin was having problems with her broom. Fred and George seemed effective enough, but this was their first game and Oliver wasn't quite sure about them. The only completely reassuring part of his team was the three Chasers, all of which had been playing for at least three years.

Of course, he'd given his normal pep talk in the dressing rooms before the match, but nobody seemed to pay much attention. They were either too nervous(Robin), joking around(The Weasleys), or had heard it all before(Angelina, Katie, and Alicia).

"Captains, shake hands," Madam Hooch stated, and Oliver had his hand crushed by the Slytherin captain, Marcus Flint. Flint had a mouthful of yellow, gapped teeth, oily black hair, clammy hands, and an unpleasant demeanor. They had been enemies ever since Oliver had joined the Gryffindor team in his second year.

Unflinching at Flint's cold, tight grip, he reflected upon the repetitiveness of all of his Quidditch games. This was the only one that had started any differently, with him as captain instead of Charlie Weasley. He almost missed being able to stand behind the tall, ginger Seeker.

Oliver was shaken out of his thoughts by Flint, wrenching his hand out of the Gryffindor's grip. It felt as if he had broken something, but Oliver shook it off. Now was no time for weakness. "Mount your brooms," Madam Hooch said. Oliver clambered onto his broom along with everyone else. The whistle blew, and everyone immediately flew up. The game had begun.


	2. The Game, The Persual

Oliver whirled to the Gryffindor goal posts, assuming his place as Keeper. To his surprise, the Weasleys seemed to be doing exceptionally as beaters; one of them (they were twins, he couldn't tell which) whacked a Bludger in the direction of Marcus Flint, cleanly knocking the Quaffle out of his grip. Lee Jordan, the commentator, cheered happily and continued on with his obviously biased commentary. "And a wonderful Bludger to the side for Flint, great hit there, Weasley! And Warrington takes the Quaffle, speeding down the pitch, c'mon there, Wood, save it!"

Oliver watched as Warrington feinted left, but had anticipated this move and immediately flew to the right hoop. He saved the shot easily, and his Chaser Alicia Spinnet swooped by, catching the bright red ball from him.

He searched the sky for Robin, his problem-prone Seeker, but something else caught his eye. There was a girl, dressed in Ravenclaw robes, running swiftly through the stands. Her long, wavy, coppery hair streamed out behind her, waving with her steps. Suddenly, she stumbled, and her mouth opened in a scream that Oliver could not hear. _No,_ he thought,_ I can't pay attention to things like that right now._ He scanned the pitch once again and found Robin circling the boundaries of the pitch, going a little slower than he would have liked. He wished she would stop being so frugal and at least buy a decent broom. Oliver also spotted the Slytherin Seeker, Terence Higgs, tailing her, deciding to use what little talent as Seeker that she had and using it to his own advantage. _She seems to be doing fine on her own,_ he thought, and turned his eyes back to the game in front of him just in time to see another of the Gryffindor Chasers, Angelina Johnson, chuck the Quaffle through Slytherin's middle hoop. Miles Bletchley, the Keeper, shouted something obscene at Angelina in frustration.

"And now Gryffindor is up by ten points!" Lee Jordan yelled, and the crowd erupted in cheers and boos.

"Flint takes the Quaffle, speeding up the pitch now, Weasley hits a Bludger at him- oh! It just missed!"

Oliver felt a pang of fear. Flint was the only Slytherin he usually had trouble with. Now, the green-robed Chaser flew toward him, tossed the Quaffle, and Oliver dove. _Closer, c'mon, idiot, you can catch that thing!_ He berated himself, but his fingertips just brushed the red wood of the Quaffle before it soared into the hoop. _Damn._

After two hours of Quidditch, Oliver was tired and sweaty, and Slytherin was up by 30 points, with a score of 40-70. Finally, he saw Robin, on her sluggish broom, dive towards the opposite end of the pitch. Luckily, Higgs was facing the other way, and didn't notice her until it was too late. Robin swerved and flipped, finally coming up with her fist in the air. Oliver breathed a sigh of relief. They had won.


	3. Wandering the Corridors

There was a party in the Gryffindor common room, with Butterbeer, Peppermint Toads, Firewhiskey, and Fizzing Whizbees. But for some reason, Oliver didn't feel like joining in. Sure, he was grateful that they had won, but all he wanted to do at the moment was collapse on his bed and sleep. He tried, but the noise of the party had kept him awake. And it wasn't just the noise. There was something else.

It was the face of that Ravenclaw, her beautiful face marred by terror. That's all he saw when he closed his eyes. Only her. He could remember her expression as she glanced behind her, causing those lovely bronze waves to whip across her face. How her long legs had swiftly worked, running faster than anyone he had ever seen traveling by pure human force. He could recall how her full, pink lips had parted in that silent scream when she tripped. Her wide eyes, begging for something that nobody could give her.

Finally, he had had enough of the party. He strode out of the Gryffindor commons, walked down the corridor, and leaned against the stone wall, breathing deeply. _Who was that girl? What was she running from? Or more likely, _who_ was she running from? Why didn't I keep watching? I was the only one who could have seen what was going on, from that angle! _With a pang of guilt, he realized that if he had kept watching, he could have seen who was causing this girl such terror.

Oliver didn't know what to do. So he roughly pushed off the wall and began to walk. Blindly, he wandered the corridors. His status as Captain kept him from detention, giving him the same rank as Prefect. Before long, he found himself in an unfamiliar part of the castle. In front of him, there was a large wooden door with an eagle knocker. He stood still for a few seconds, and realized he heard something, beyond his own heartbeat. Breathing. "Hello?" Oliver called, igniting his wand. He didn't want to be caught out of bed by Filch, but knew that the old, rheumatic caretaker could never outrun him back to Gryffindor Tower.

That is, if he could remember the way back.

Oliver crept toward the noises, jumping when the wandlight reflected off something, creating an almost penny-like color, but lighter. _It's someone sleeping,_ he realized, shocked, and moved forward to shake her shoulder. When she raised her head, though, he gasped. It was the girl from the Quidditch game.


	4. The Keeper, The Seeker, and The Chaser

**Remember, reviewers get cookies! **

**Also, I would like to thank my complete BFF Dream Author for helping me with this chapter... And for being Kate :)**

**Kate rules!**

**And thanks, all you other people who reviewed and added this to story alert and favorites and everything... It is my first FanFic, you wouldn't believe how unnecessarily excited I was when I got all those emails. **

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><p>"I-is he still there?" the girl asked frantically looking around.<p>

"Shhh," Oliver soothed, "There's no one here. What's your name?"

The girl visibly relaxed.

"Tessa," she sighed. "Tessa Feire."

"I saw you running away from someone during the Quidditch game. Can you tell me who they were?"

"He. It was a he. But other than that, I have no idea who it was. All I know is that I've been seeing him around school, and he always seems to be staring at me. Today, I was sitting with my best friend Kate at the game, and there he was, right behind me."

"So you ran?"

"Yeah. I told Kate I had to go to the bathroom, and he chased me. I tripped, but there was no way I was going to let him catch me," Tessa explained, "So I just kept running."

"I remember. I've never seen anyone run so fast."

Tessa blushed. Oliver thought it was a wonderful color for her.

"Anyway, I ran into the castle, and tried to get to the common room," she pointed to the wooden door in front of them, "But he caught up with me. So I dove behind this pillar." She touched the big stone pillar behind her. "He didn't find me, for some reason. I thought for sure I'd be seen."

"But he didn't see you?"

"No. But after that, all I wanted to do was sit down and rest. I was very tired, and I fell asleep."

Oliver stood up, and offered his hand to Tessa. She took it, and pulled herself up.

"Well, Tessa Feire," Oliver said, the name rolling smoothly off his tongue, "Let's get you home." He walked her over to the door with the eagle knocker.

"What's your name?" Tessa asked softly.

"Oliver Wood. You might know me from Quidditch games."

"Oh, yes," Tessa smiled, "You're quite famous among us. I'm the Ravenclaw Seeker, and all the girls on the team are quite taken with you." With that, shedisappeared into the Ravenclaw tower.

**Tessa**

Tessa walked into the common room, smiling at Oliver's face when she had told him about the crush that practically every girl Quidditch player had on him.

The only thing she had left out was that she happened to be one of those.

"Tessa!" Kate rushed over, giving her friend a hug. "Where were you? Oh, nevermind that, I have so much to tell you!"

Tessa laughed at the look of excitement on her friend's Japanese features. "Let me guess. Does it have something to do with Draco?"

"Maybe…" her friend said elusively. "Okay, okay, yes! After the match, he pulled me into the library and kissed me!"

Tessa was skeptical. "Just like that?"

"Well, okay, maybe he said a couple things, like, 'Kate, I know I've been a jerk to you and your friends lately, and I wanted to apologize.'"

"That doesn't seem like something Draco would say."

"Yeah, I know, but love does weird things to people, doesn't it?" Kate asked dreamily.

"Umm, sure," Tessa said. "But I have something more serious to tell you."

By the end of her story, Kate's face was very serious. "Oh, Tess, what are we going to do? I mean, we could go to the teachers-"

"No," Tessa cut her off, "then we'd have to miss classes and be in the middle of all this attention."

"Yeah, I guess so," Kate said, resigned, "but at least you got to meet Oliver Wood!" Kate was a Chaser on the Ravenclaw team.

"You've got a boyfriend now!"

"So?" That doesn't mean I don't think your little Ollie is cute!"

Tessa blushed again at Kate's remark of Oliver being hers. "I don't think we should worry about this right now. I'm still tired."


	5. Seen once again

**First, I would like to say that I just noticed a huge error: Draco Malfoy is in his fifth year already and Harry isn't even in school yet. Either that, or Harry isn't on the Quidditch team and there is absolutely no mention of him. Just bear with me, please, and take this situation anyway you want.**

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><p>Oliver walked down the hallway, keeping an eye out for Tessa. He spotted Draco Malfoy talking with a pretty, black haired Ravenclaw, and then saw Tessa standing right next to them. She saw him and immediately hurried over.<p>

"Hey," she said. "What's up?"

"Nothing," Oliver replied. "What's Malfoy doing over there?"

"Draco? Oh, he's now dating my best friend, Kate. That's her right there." She pointed to the girl talking to the platinum-haired Slytherin.

"Kind of opposites, you know? The black hair, white hair, Ravenclaw, Slytherin," Oliver observed.

"Yeah, I noticed that too. The only thing that would make that more true would be if we were Gryffindors like you." Oliver noticed how she used, "we," instead of "she." They really were very good friends.

"C'mon," Tessa urged, "Kate's been wanting to meet you ever since we played against you in our first match." She tugged him through the crowd. "Well, Kate, here he is," she announced, stifling giggles, "the one and only Oliver Wood."

"Er, pleased to meet you," Oliver said awkwardly, shaking Kate's hand. He had no experience with girls.

"Charmed," Kate said happily. "This is my boyfriend, Draco." Oliver and Draco exchanged unfriendly looks. Slytherins and Gryffindors didn't mix, everyone knew that.

"So," Kate said, suddenly much more somber, "Tess's told me about this _problem_ of hers."

Tessa looked scared. "I don't know what to do about-" she cut off, paling.

"What?" Oliver asked anxiously. He turned around, just as he heard Tessa whisper.

"_There he is._"

A man stood there, but there was something weird about his face, like there was nothing to focus on. If he had been asked, Oliver would have said it was impossible to describe the man's features, even his skin tone.

Draco looked confused. "Wait," he asked, drawing a protective arm around Kate, "What problem? Who's where?"

"I'll explain later," Oliver said hurriedly, "but now I've got to go." He grabbed onto Tessa's arm and shoved her in front of him, whispering, "Run! There's a broom closet right after this next turn, get into in as soon as you see it."

They ran, using the speed they had earned from their years of Quidditch. Glancing back, Oliver saw the form of the man beginning to follow them. Tessa turned the corner, Oliver close behind, and they dove into the closet. "_Alohomora!"_ Oliver sealed the door closed.

They stood in the closet, very close. Oliver could smell her soap, a mixture of jasmine and raspberry, and inhaled deeply, drinking it in. Outside, they could hear footsteps, stalking the place around where they had disappeared. Tessa trembled and pressed closer to Oliver, and his arms instinctively wrapped around her.

**Tessa**

Tessa leaned into Oliver's chest, which was toned from his Quidditch. She had known him less than a day, but already she felt as though he was one of her closest friends. When she felt him close her into a warm embrace, she tried to still her shaking. She didn't want to look so weak in front of him.

The footsteps grew louder and softer, and Tessa buried her face deeper into Oliver's shirt, smelling his wonderful, outdoorsy scent, like pine trees and plain old soap mixed together. _He knows where we are, _she thought.

Finally, the footsteps died away, and they emerged from the closet. The bell rang, marking the one minute left to get to class. "Oh, no!" Tessa said, "I'll be late for transfiguration!"

Oliver looked at her like she was crazy. "A time like this, all you can think of is classes?"

"What can I say?" Tessa said, smiling wryly as she hurried away, "I'm a Ravenclaw."

Luckily, McGonagall's classroom wasn't far away, and she slid into her seat just as the professor walked into the room. _What happened?_ Kate mouthed at her, but Tessa just gestured for her to wait._ I'll tell you later._

Throughout the lesson, Tessa's mind kept straying to Oliver. How he had held her in the closet, how just right it felt. How his scent seemed to overpower her fear of the man outside. She sighed. _If he smells that good, _she thought, _I wonder how he would taste. Those full, wide lips, mmmm…_ Dammit. Now she was stuck with the idea of making out with a boy who only saw her as something that he was responsible to protect. _Tess,_ she berated herself harshly,_ pay attention to the class!_

Finally, it was lunchtime. Tessa walked into the Great Hall, and Kate immediately walked over with Draco and Oliver.

"Draco knows now," she said. "Oliver explained it all."

"Good. Do you know what happened this morning, too?"

"Yeah. He told us that, too."

Tessa threw a grateful look at Oliver, glad that he had spared her talking about her terrifying ordeal once again.

"We've got to make sure that someone is with her at all times between classes," Oliver said, taking the initiative. "Can you guys help with that?"

"Yeah," Draco put in, "I can make sure that either me or my friend Blaise is with her between 4th and 7th hours."

"And I've got the same classes as Tess for the others," Kate supplied.

"Good. And I'll keep an eye out as well."

Apparently, Tessa now had a guard.

"Well, now that that's taken care of," she said, "can we eat now? I'm starving."


	6. Night of Attacks

**This will be my last post for a week. I'm going on a trip, and there won't be any internet there. Don't worry, I made a suspenseful ending! Haha please review! *gives cookies to all the people who reviewed* **

**Anyway, here it is!**

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><p>Oliver had a fairly relaxing Saturday. Meaning, as relaxing as it could be, what with worrying about Tessa's stalker. He didn't quite understand why she refused to go to the teachers, but respected her wished nonetheless.<p>

That night, in the Gryffindor common room, late, about midnight, Oliver was sitting in a squashy armchair, completing a truly vicious Potions essay that had had to be put off because of Quidditch practice. He dipped his quill. "_The moonseed poison takes it name from its primary ingredient-"_

Suddenly, he heard a voice outside and stiffened from his slouch. The Fat Lady was talking to someone, someone who sounded truly desperate. "Please! Just let me in! I promise I won't tell anybody, or anything-"

The Fat Lady responded. "I wasn't worried about that; you can't come in unless you have the password! And, I might add, it is after hours! You should be in your dormitory, young lady!"

"Please! I can't go back to the tower, that's where my friends are, he'll hurt them! Can't you understand?"

At this, Oliver went to the portrait hole, pushed aside The Fat Lady, and saw Tessa, her eyes wild. She was dressed in flannel pajama pants and a long, loose tee, a plain black silk robe over them, and her feet were bare. Her hair was windswept, as though she'd been flying on a broom, but Oliver knew that it was just from her running. "Tessa? What are you doing here?"

"He-he's there. In my dorm. I just woke up and saw him. I couldn't-"

She cut off suddenly as Oliver pulled her through the portrait hole. "You're staying here tonight. He might stand outside the portrait hole all night, but he won't get you, and now that he's out of Ravenclaw tower, he won't be able to get back in very easily."

"Thank you. I was so scared, and I thought that if I woke Kate, he might hurt her. So I just came to you."

Oliver's essay was long forgotten. "Let's get you upstairs. The only place I can think of for you to sleep is in my bed, it ought to be big enough. I'll keep the hangings drawn so nobody can see." He pulled her over to the stairs and slowly climbed them. Oliver had forgotten how late it was.

They entered his dormitory, and luckily everyone was asleep. "You get into the bed," he whispered to Tessa, "And I'll be right there."

She obliged, and a few minutes later she felt Oliver's warm body slide in next to her. A few minutes later, they both were asleep.

**Tessa**

Tessa woke up feeling very warm and very comfortable. _Where am- oh, _she thought as she saw Oliver next to her. Somehow, during the night, his arm had curled around her, and they were now very tightly pressed together.

She drew back the curtain a bit, saw the clock. It was a little after 6, and people would be getting up soon. She quietly slipped out of Oliver's bed(making sure that he did not wake up), tiptoed down the stairs, and crept out of the portrait hole, very quietly.

Tessa silently but quickly padded her way down the corridor to the Ravenclaw common room, but remembered that she left her black robe in Oliver's bed. It had been a Christmas present from her grandmother, and she prided herself with keeping the fine silk clean and perfect. _Damn. I suppose I'll get it from him later today._ She approached the door to the common room, where she found a very worried-looking Draco Malfoy. "Where have you been?" He hissed. "I've been looking everywhere for you, and one of your roommates says that she woke up in the middle of the night and you weren't in you bed."

Tessa was very confused. "What do you mean you've been looking for me? And where's Kate?"

"Kate is the reason why I'm here right now. She's in the hospital wing. Someone attacked her overnight."

The blood drained from Tessa's face. "Oh, no," she whispered, horrified. "He shouldn't have been able to get back in, no,"

"He?" Draco asked sharply. "You mean the guy who's been following you around?"

"Yeah," Tessa said, "I woke up at about midnight last night, and he was standing there, in our dorm. I didn't want to wake up Kate and risk her getting hurt, so I just ran out of the tower. I didn't know where to go, so I went to the Gryffindor common room and Oliver let me in. That's where I've been, he let me stay the night."

Draco sighed. "Well anyway, your best friend is in the Hospital Wing, bleeding rather badly, and she won't say what happened unless you're there. So get some real clothing on and meet me there.

Tessa rushed into the common room, ran upstairs, skipping every other step, and threw on a pair of black skinny jeans and a purple sweater. She slipped on her pair of old, frayed, lime green Converse Lo-Tops and rushed out the door, pulling her hair into a messy ponytail.

She worried about Kate as she ran full speed to the Hospital Wing. Then she skidded to a halt, barely out of breath, and walked in, striding immediately to her best friend's bedside. Draco was there, holding her hand, and Madam Pomfrey was changing an already blood-soaked bandage. "Kate," Tessa said, and Kate's eyes fluttered open.

"Tessa," she said quietly.

"Listen, Kate, I'm so sorry. It was all my fault. I should have made sure there was no way-"

"Shut up," Kate said with a small laugh. "I don't blame you. It was in no way your fault." She winced as Madam Pomfrey waved her wand over the cut in her side, making it close up a little bit.

"Kate!" Tears were now streaming down Tessa's face.

"Oh, stop crying. I'm going to be fine."

Professor Dumbledore's voice interrupted them. "Well, Miss Sato, How are you feeling?" Tessa whirled around to see Dumbledore and McGonagall standing in front of them.

"Quite well, thanks, Professor," Kate said almost cheerfully.

"And you, Miss Feire?"

"Um, I'm fine, thank you, Professor," Tessa said.

"Good. Now," Dumbledore began, "will you two tell us your story?"

Kate and Tessa looked at each other. Then they launched into their story, going through Tessa's creepy stalker, her night over with Oliver, Kate's attack, and her meeting with Draco that morning. Finally, they looked at the Professors, who were exchanging looks. "Curious," Dumbledore murmured. "Curious."

"And unfortunate," McGonagall added.

"Yes. Quite unfortunate." Dumbledore agreed.


	7. Explanation and a Kiss

**Oliver**

He woke up, bleary. The bed was warm next to him, and he reached across the mattress, looking for Tessa.

But no one was there.

All he felt was a few scraps of silk. Her robe. But then he opened his eyes, and he realized that he wasn't feeling her robe. He was feeling what was left of it. The smooth, soft jet black silk was ripped into shreds. Even the cool, draped hood was ripped clean off.

**Tessa**

Professor Dumbledore opened his mouth to explain, but before he could say anything, Oliver burst in, breathing hard. He was holding a mess of black cloth. "Tessa," he panted. "I've been looking every"- he looked around and stopped. "What happened?"

"He attacked Kate. That's exactly what I was trying to prevent by coming to you, but he came in anyway." Tessa said. "What's that?" She gestured to the cloth in his hand.

Oliver swore. "Oh, sorry, Professor," he apologized, looking at Dumbledore, who just waved him off amiably.

"And to answer your question," he said, and tipped the remains of her robe onto the foot of Kate's bed. Both girls gasped.

"Tess, that isn't your robe? The one that your grandma got you from Scotland?"

"Oh, no! I though I left it in your bed, Oliver!"

"You did. I woke up and it was like that. The bed was still warm." Oliver said grimly.

"So I had just gotten out of it."

"And you were sleeping on top of the robe."

"So that must mean that he came in the few minutes that I was gone and you were asleep."

Draco was watching their conversation like a tennis match, back and forth. Finally, he spoke up. "I just want to know that whoever hurt Kate is punish-" he began angrily.

At this, Professor McGonagall interrupted. "Mr. Wood, Mr. Malfoy, Miss Feire, I must say something. This has happened before."

"Wait, so you mean that periodically, random guys just keep showing up and stalking your students, and hurting some?" Kate asked.

"No," McGonagall said sternly, "I'll let Professor Dumbledore explain."

Dumbledore began. "This has happened once before, when I was in my first year in the post as Transfiguration teacher, and Professor Dippet was headmaster.

"It started when Allaine Feire, your great-great-great grandmother, in fact, was in her second year."

Tessa couldn't help herself. She interrupted. "So, this stalking thing runs in my family? Oh, sorry."

Dumbledore continued. "Apparently, there is a legend in your family, one that describes your descendants having been forced to promise their daughter, if she was the first born, to another family, the Ondels, I think they were, in marriage. The Ondels were a Danish family, and without the L at the end, it translates from Danish into "evil." It was quite fitting, really.

"Our theory is that their name started out as Onde, but over the years, it was changed into Ondel. Anyway, we have done some research on this, and we have discovered that since Allaine, you were the only first born daughter for the three generations between you two."

"So," Tessa said, the truth dawning on her, "these creeps still think that this promise holds? They want me to marry their weird little prince?"

"Exactly. And the Ondels were also known for their invention of the Anti-Disillusionment spell. It does the opposite of the Disillusionment charm, and makes the holder's face stand out so much that it is difficult to focus on them. That way, the holder is not invisible, but cannot be identified either. That is why you can see him, but he cannot be seen at the same time.

"This old family has been known to be quite violent," Dumbledore continued on. "They will hurt as many as much as they like to get what they want. So anyone you are close to can be hurt. Even you can be hurt."

"We've got to do something," Oliver said. "We can't just wait around for this guy to kidnap Tessa!"

"That's the thing. We can do nothing now. If he finds out that Miss Feire has told someone, he may take her sooner, or hurt her more. All we can do is wait."

"Wait for what!" Oliver exploded. "There's nothing we can do when he takes her, somewhere we have no idea what he's doing to her!"

Dumbledore was unfazed. "But we do know where he would take her. After Allaine, we were preparing for this to happen again. Professor Trelawney has kindly located the Ondel castle, Skremmende, for us. That is where she would be taken."

"What happened to Allaine?" Kate asked softly.

Dumbledore turned to her. "Allaine was killed. She escaped from Skremmende, graduated from Hogwarts, got married, and had a son and a daughter. Unfortunately, the past caught up with her. Her would-be Ondel husband murdered her one night," he sighed sadly.

"That's awful!" Tessa exclaimed, but quieted when she realized that Kate had abruptly fallen asleep right when Dumbledore had finished. Neary getting killed was very tiring. "I think I'll go," she whispered, and walked from the room, leaving a very worried Draco at Kate's bedside and Oliver still looking angry at Dumbledore. She walked slowly down the corridor, hearing the soles of her worn-out Converse tap on the stone floors. _So, some creeper is coming after me because he wants to have a forced marriage. Just great._ She continued, and found herself in the Owlery.

"Tessa!" She spun, and saw Oliver hurrying toward her.

"Oli-" she began, but was cut off as he enfolded her in a warm, wonderful embrace and slanted his mouth over hers.

**Oliver**

Oliver had no idea what possessed him to kiss Tessa. It just felt like the most natural thing to do, the only way to explain how much he cared for her, how much he hated the thought of letting her be taken to some weirdo's castle.

He heard the soft hooting of the owls above them, felt the recently risen sun, shining through the glass-less window. But most of all he felt Tessa, pressing closer to him, her arms coming up to circle his neck. Her lips parted, and he tasted her wonderful taste. Essence of Tessa.

He pulled away. "I'm sorry," he said. "I shouldn't have done that."

He began to step away, but stopped when she grabbed his sleeve, hauled him back to her, set her hands on either side of his head, and pulled his lips back over hers. Her long fingers crept up to tangle in his unruly, dark brown hair.

Oliver made sure his hands were not wandering, only set firmly on her slim waist, and backed her up against the Owlery wall. He didn't want to push her farther than she liked.

But obviously, she liked this.

Her long, wavy ponytail brushed his fingers on her waist when she moved her head, getting a better angle.

At that moment, Oliver heard a gasp, and a muttered apology. Footsteps ran quickly away from the doorway.

He tore his mouth from Tessa's, looked at her flushed cheeks and full lips, and could barely control himself from taking her mouth once more. He had never noticed her lips before. They were so soft, full, and pink, like a movie star's, but she needed no enhancement. There was a small crescent moon shaped scar curving up on the left side of the bottom one.

"You had better have meant that kiss," Tessa said accusingly, but playfully, "Because the whole school knows now. Everybody would think it's weird if they know we've been making out and we're just acting like friends."

"Don't worry." Oliver was slightly out of breath. "I meant it."

"And," she said, a happy light coming into her eyes, "I'm going to need you as much more than just my boyfriend."

Oliver looked confused.

She laughed. "Your fan club! Do you know how many girls have been waiting to do what I just did? They'll be so jealous; I'll need you as a bodyguard!"

**Tessa**

Kate got out of the hospital wing that night. She still had bandages, but she could walk fine and was refusing Draco's constant offer of help. Tessa was glad that he was playing the worried boyfriend. Kate seemed like she needed it.

Tessa was lying on her bed, thinking about Oliver, when Kate walked slowly up the stairs. "Hey, Tess, what's up?"

"Oliver," Tessa sighed dreamily.

"Finally. I was wondering when you two would finally come to your senses. You guys are so obvious."

"Are we?" Tessa was alarmed.

"Well, you are when you're my best friend." Kate laughed as she sank into a chair. "Now spit it out."

Tessa grinned. "Well, I was just standing in the Owlery, thinking about what Professor Dumbledore said, and he came in, so I turned around, and he just kissed me."

"Like, bang? He just walked in there and was like, I kiss you?"

Tessa snickered at her best friend's antics. "Pretty much. But then he stopped and started to apologize-"

Kate groaned. "That idiot."

"And duh, I didn't want him to stop, so I pulled him back and kissed him back, and then we were, like"(she became overcome by the odd giggles that a girl only gets when they talk about boys) "making out, and someone came into the room."

Kate snorted, a thoroughly un-girl-like noise. "So that's why I saw that Gryffindor Lavender Brown looking so gleeful. She just saw you two snogging and had decided to tell the world!"

"No!" Tessa shrieked. "It was her? She's such a blabber!"

Kate started laughing so hard, tears started leaking out of the corners of her eyes and she held her mostly healed side while Tessa freaked out about the prospect of Lavender Brown telling the school about her relationship with Oliver.

Another girl from their year, Alison Terne, came up. "What's so funny?"

"Tess's got a boyfriend," Kate managed.

"Kate!" Tessa yelled at her while Ali shrieked excitedly.

"Ooooh! Who is it, Tess, who is it?"

"Oliver Wood," Kate cut in before Tessa could say anything.

"No, really," Ali said, "Everyone says they're his girlfriend."

"Yes, really," Tessa laughed. "We snogged today in the Owlery."

"What! I am so jealous!"

"Ha!" Kate said triumphantly. "I told you!"

Eventually, all the girls in Tessa's dorm knew about her and Oliver Wood. She received many, 'Congratulations,' and even more, 'Oh my god! I am so jealous!'s.

She snuggled up into her blankets, deciding not to think about her troubles until she saw Oliver again tomorrow. The last thing she saw before she closed her eyes was a face.

One she was unable to focus on.

**Oliver**

Oliver woke up the next morning, saw the snow outside, and decided to go out for a ride on his broom. He dressed in plain Muggle clothing (it was Sunday) and went into the common room. He heard a familiar voice outside, yelling in. "Oliver! I need to talk to you! Please!"

He opened up the portrait hole and saw yet another Ravenclaw 5th year in her pajamas. "Tess is missing," Kate panted. "The man took her."


	8. Capture, Magical Items

"Why didn't you go to Dumbledore?" Oliver demanded.

"I thought that you might be angry if I didn't tell you," Kate said reasonably.

"All right. But now let's go to Dumbledore." Oliver jumped through the portrait hole, and they sprinted to the staircase of Dumbledore's office, from which McGonagall was just emerging.

"Mr. Wood, Miss Sato, can I help?"

"Please, Professor, we need to talk to Professor Dumbledore," Kate said breathlessly. "Tessa's missing."

McGonagall immediately stepped aside, and they ran into the stair-chamber. It slowly circled up, and Oliver and Wood found themselves in Dumbledore's office.

"Hello," He said calmly. "Are you ready?"

"Ready?" Kate asked.

"Yes. I suppose that the only reason you two are in my office is because Miss Feire has been taken by the Ondels. Are you ready?" He repeated.

"Er, sir, ready for what?" Oliver was confused.

"You two are going to get her, aren't you?"

This was unexpected. "Sir, I didn't know that students would be the most effective-" Kate was hesitant.

"I'll do it," said Oliver determinedly. Kate immediately decided that if Oliver went, she would too.

"All right," she said, "But let me talk to Draco first."

"Certainly" Dumbledore said amiably. "I'll call him up here." He produced an owl out of nowhere, scratched something down on a scrap of parchment, and gave it to the bird, which flew out of the window.

Within minutes, Draco emerged from the staircase. "What's going on?"

Dumbledore explained. "The Ondel prince has taken Miss Feire to Skremmende. I am leaving it up to Mr. Wood and Miss Sato to bring her back."

"No." Draco growled. "If she goes, I will too."

"Draco," Kate began, "You should stay-"

"I will not let you be offered up to some psychopathic torturer," Draco was adamant.

Dumbledore cut in. "Mr. Malfoy. Do you realize that you will be in even more danger than these two, as you are will not be recognized by the Ondels? They do not take kindly to strangers."

"I don't care. If Kate is going, then I am too."

"Draco!"

"Miss Sato. Mr. Malfoy must make this decision for himself. If he wants to go, that is his choice," Dumbledore intervened.

Kate grumbled unhappily. Draco put his arm around her shoulders.

"Now," Dumbledore said, "I have some items for you all. Mr. Wood?"

Oliver walked forward. The professor held out a Snitch. "You can use this to contact any of the people in the castle. Say the name to the Snitch, and whatever message you want to tell them. They can contact you back, but it will only work once. After that, it is just a normal old Snitch."

Oliver pocketed the little golden ball, and Dumbledore called to Kate. She walked hesitantly up to him. He gave her a thin wooden paintbrush.

"This," he said, "is charmed to change into any non magical or non Muggle-made weapon you like. A sword, knife, bow and arrows, anything. I hope you will not need it. "

Kate took the paintbrush and tucked it into the messy bun she wore on the base of her neck.

"Mr. Malfoy. What I have for you is a bottle of Veritaserum. You know what it does, I hope?" Draco nodded and pocketed the small vial.

"And now to get to the castle."

**Tessa**

Tessa was in the middle of a completely ridiculous flashback from the time her Muggle cousin had made her watch a _Star Wars_ movie. It went sort of like this:

"_Marry me, and we'll rule the Ondel family forever!"_

"_I'll never marry you!"_

"_Tessa. I am your betrothed."_

"_Noooooo!"_

"_Marry me. Or else."_

She would have laughed if she was currently capable of the action. But right now, her wrists were chained to a railing on a wall, her arms wrenched behind her back, forcing her on her knees. The room she was in contrasted with her position; it had thick purple and gold carpeting, an opulent diamond chandelier casting a cold light over the golden wallpaper. A black and purple brocade lounge couch sat in front of her with a dark wooden side table holding a small, simple lamp and a gold-painted coaster. A draft was drifting in from somewhere, raising bumps over her skin.

This was the room that Tessa had woken up to. After she initially woke after being manhandled out of her bed, she'd been knocked out with a vicious punch to the temple, and her head throbbed unpleasantly.

Sometime after she'd woken, a man that she recognized as her stalker had come in. The Anti-Disillusionment charm was gone from his face, and she had studied his face. His eyes were dark, muddy brown, his lips thin and pale, and his face was clean-shaven. He had introduced himself as Lineal. Funnily enough, a conversation much like the one above had taken place, and had ended with Lineal walking over to Tessa and kicking her in the ribs, effectively knocking the wind out of her. With that, he had stridden purposefully from the room.

Now, Tessa was sure that he had broken something. She was having trouble breathing, and her wrists burned as the cold metal of the chains rubbed her skin. Her hair fell into her bruised face and she tossed her head back, trying to clear it. She realized that, past the pain in her ribs, her stomach was aching. The last thing she'd eaten was a piece of mince pie she'd had for dinner in the Great Hall last night.

As if reading her thoughts, Lineal walked in, a trembling maid holding a tray following like a duckling.

"I have food for you," he sneered, and the serving maid scurried forward and placed the tray in front of Tessa.

"Thank-" she tried to croak to the maid, but Lineal caught her ribs in another hard kick. She groaned, feeling something break for sure.  
>"You do not speak to the help," he snarled. "This is your first lesson for your life with me."<p>

"How many times do I have to tell you?" Tessa said angrily. "I'm not marrying you!"

"We'll see."

"Yes. We will, won't we?"

Linear smirked at her and walked out of the room, still followed by the maid.

Tessa examined the food. It looked as though she'd been given mashed potatoes and a few slices of beef. It was all food that she'd be able to easily and cleanly eat without a fork, and it smelled delicious, but she decided not to eat it in case it was drugged.

Just making this decision made her empty stomach pang painfully, and she shouldered the plate away.

With the tantalizing smell out of the way, she settled down to think of an escape plan.


	9. The Solar and the Oubliette

**Hey! I've got a cliffhanger for you guys today, with a side of torture! Enjoy and review, please! I'll give you free dessert if you do! Cookies, anything, you know the drill ;)**

**Doesn't really count as a cliffhanger, though, 'cause 1) we know Tessa can't die, right? and 2) I'm posting the next chapter very soon. I've already started on it. And we've got lots of Kate/Draco in the next couple chapters, by specific request of... um... someone.**

* * *

><p><strong>Oliver<strong>

The three landed uncomfortably on a cold, grey stone floor. The Portkey they'd used fell to the ground. It was a folded square of purple upholstery fabric.

Dumbledore's reasoning had been that it would take longer for them to be found out if their Portkey matched the décor. Right now, none of them could see a single thread of purple fabric. The corridor in front of them stretched out, cold, dark, and narrow, with flickering torches on wall sconces barely lighting the way.

They heard footsteps coming out of a heavy wooden door on the left. "Quick!" Draco hissed. He pulled them into a different room, which turned out to be a small broom closet. Oliver quietly eased the door shut, and pressed his ear to the dark wood.

"Prince's betrothed… kept in the Solar…"

"Heard... thank…maids," the footsteps faded.

"What'd you hear?" Kate whispered.

"She's being kept in the, um, Solar?"

"Okay. That's usually in one of the towers. It's the common room for the Lord and Lady, or in this case just the Lord. Well, unless he has already forced her to marry him."

Draco and Oliver goggled at her. "How'd you know that?" Draco asked.

"It's plain Medieval knowledge, the names of the buildings in a castle. I just suppose this one has a couple more, like an Owlery."

"Okay. Anyway, we've got to get to the Solar. Kate, do you know where that is?"

"It should be in one of the towers. Judging by the position of this castle, the east. The wind usually blows in from the west, so the elite's rooms get the least wind."

They darted out of the laundry room, and Oliver did a quick spell. "_Point Me," _he whispered, and his wand pointed North-South. "All right, we've got to go this way," Draco directed. They darted down the corridor, and went down the first easterly hallway they found.

Suddenly, more footsteps thundered down toward them. Quickly, they ducked into an alcove, and Kate cast a hasty Disillusionment Charm over them. The purple and gold robed guard hurried past them without looking twice.

"Good one," Draco breathed, kissing Kate on the lips.

"Mmmm," she sighed, wrapping her arms around him and deepening the kiss.

"Um, guys? You know, this isn't exactly the time for a huge make out session. We're kind of looking for my girlfriend."

"Right, mate, sorry," Draco pulled away, not embarrassed in the slightest. Kate's cheeks were red, but she said nothing. They continued on, coming to a steep, narrow spiral staircase.

Oliver began to climb first, and arrived at the landing slightly out of breath. A maid was just slipping out of the room, carrying a tray full of uneaten food. She squeaked slightly at Oliver and nearly dropped the tray. He pointed his wand at her. "Where have they taken Tessa?" he snarled.

"T-tessa? Sir?"

"The prince's betrothed."

"S-sir, they j-j-just took her d-down,"

"Down? Where?"

"T-the dungeons, I think, Sir. Maybe the oubliette."

Behind him, Kate gasped. He glanced back at her. "What?"

"They can't have taken her to the oubliette. They can't have."

"Kate? What's an oubliette?"

"It's where prisoners are taken."

"Yes? But what's so bad about that? What happens down there?"

"The prisoners are left there," She whispered, horrified. "They starve to death."

**Tessa**

Lineal watched smugly as his two, hulking guards pulled Tessa down the stairs. She kept thinking they'd end, but there'd be another flight, and another one, and yet another after that. She stumbled, and the guard on the right reached across and backhanded her so hard that she felt her lip split. Spitting out blood, she continued on.

Finally, they stopped in front of a wall with wrist shackles hanging from the ceiling. Like some bad cliché horror movie, one still had a skeleton hanging from it. Looking down, she noticed a grate below her still bare feet, leading into a dark, damp room.

Lineal began to speak. "Below you lies the oubliette. By not eating the meal I provided, you tell me that you no longer want life. You would like to starve to death."

Tessa glared scathingly at him and spit more blood out. A bit trickled from the corner of her mouth, and she thought, _I bet I look like one of those vampires in the weird romance books my Muggle cousin reads._

"That is what we use the oubliette for. Luckily for you, it has not been used for the past century or two, so you'll only have to share it with a skeleton or two."

The menacing guards guffawed moronically. She took their moment of distraction and used it to her advantage. She stamped on each of their feet and twisted, wrenching out of their grip. She ducked around Lineal with Seeker speed, and thought for a second she was free, but he caught her around her broken ribs and threw her forcefully to the floor. She cried out in agony as her ribs jerked and her shoulder dislocated from the crash.

Tessa looked up and saw Lineal standing over her, holding a knife. "You seem even more eager than death than I thought. I'll help speed it up." He knelt down and sliced a deep line across her collarbone, and she moaned in pain. "What a pity," he murmured, cupping her face, "Too young, too beautiful to be marred by death. Yet I feel obligated to respect your wishes," and he drew another cut over her cheekbone. Her tears trickled down her face, mixing with the grime and the blood, dripping down to the hard stone floor. The gash on her collarbone streamed blood down to the ground, creating a growing puddle of dark scarlet.

Lineal abruptly stood and gestured to the guards. They jerked Tessa from the stone and she screamed in pain from her shoulder. Lineal looked at her sadly. "I suppose I'll have to get another of your relatives for a wife. It's a pity you had to choose death instead."

"I suppose I'll see you there soon enough, won't I?" Tessa growled, and spat at his feet, splattering his immaculately shiny boots with blood and saliva.

The guards opened the grate and shoved her through the hole. She fell into a tiny, claustrophobic room, and true to Lineal's word, there was even a skeleton. The chamber was barely 6 feet long and about 8 feet wide, and it was smaller with the corpse of a full grown man taking up most of the room.

Tessa shivered, her broken ribs making it impossible to regain all of her breath. She rasped in a breath once, and her full exhaustion collapsed on her. She fell to the ground in a dead faint.

**Oliver**

As Oliver, Draco, and Kate drew closer to the staircase that must have led to the dungeons, an alarm went off. The loud, klaxon noise rang painfully in their ears. A voice rang out through the castle. "Skremmende has been infiltrated. Guards, protect your home. Search the castle; bring any intruders to Prince Lineal." The alarm cut off, and instead, they could hear the footsteps of hundreds of guards mobilizing above them.

"Damn. They must have found the Portkey," Draco said, and they dashed down the stairs, level after level of them. Oliver noticed small droplets of blood spotting the stairs as they descended.

Finally, they arrived in the dungeons. "Hello," said a tall man that they recognized as 'the man.' "I am Prince Lineal."

Kate stepped forward. "What the hell have you done with Tessa? Where is she?"

"My dear girl, Kate, is it? Your friend," he paused, measuring their reactions, "is dead."


	10. A Snitch, Truth, A Sword, and Insanity

**Hey, sorry about the wait, I was working on my other story and also having a bit of fun wasting time with the Microsoft Word feature that translates your stories for you. I was having the most fun with French and Italian.**

**And, please excuse any weird mistakes or word switches or something, I really wanted to finish this before 1:30 am, and was trying to get it done quickly enough before 1) I got too tired to keep going, and 2) my playlist on my iPod ran out.**

**You know the drill, reviewers get cookies and all that stuff. Actually, please do review, I kind of want to know how well I write at 1:30 in the morning. Please review? And make me happy? **

**Anyway, here it is:**

**Oliver**

"No! No, you're lying. Tess isn't dead. I'll kill you!" Kate yelled, pulling out her wand. Lineal mirrored her, laughing when Draco stepped in front of Kate. "And who might you be? I'll kill you before any of them. You are much more of a threat to Skremmende."

"If you kill me, you won't kill her. I'll make sure of it."

"Ah, young love! You know what I'll do? I think I'll torture her," Lineal gestured to Kate, "and make you two watch it. Then I'll torture you," he flicked his wand at Draco, who was immediately bound by invisible ropes, unable to move, "Take this one," he turned to Oliver, then raised his eyebrows, surprised, "oh! You're the boyfriend, aren't you? Well, your girl isn't completely dead. I'll bring her up from the oubliette, torture you, and make her watch, then torture her, more," he added, "and make you watch. Then, I'll kill both of you, throw your bodies in the oubliette, kill Kate here, and finally, kill Blondie."

He flicked his wand once more, and before any of them could react, they were all frozen.

"And I'll take that," Lineal said gleefully, snatching Kate's wand from her and tucking it in is back pocket. He gestured to the door, and 3 hulking shadows appeared in the doorway, blocking it completely. Then, he levitated a grate open, set it down, and pointed his wand down into the pit underneath, raising it slowly.

Tessa's limp body came into view, then dropped cruelly onto the floor. She woke abruptly, crying out with pain. She was already emaciated looking, her bones standing out in clear relief.

"Lineal," Oliver snapped, "What have you done with her?"

"Well, I was hoping you'd ask that." Lineal raised her body into a standing position. "First, you'll see she's quite thin. That is not my fault; she refused to eat. Then," he walked over to her body and raised her shirt a bit, showing her broken ribs easily, "I kicked her in the ribs a few times. I think I was pretty successful, don't you? She also has many bruises, a dislocated shoulder," he tweaked her shoulder a bit and she screamed, eyes still closed, "a split lip, and a few cuts." The dried blood stood out quite a bit on her body.

Then without warning, Lineal pointed his wand at Kate and yelled, "_Crucio!_"

Kate collapsed, the binding spell removed. She writhed around on the floor, just missing the pool of blood that had come from Tessa.

"No, stop! Please!" Draco pleaded. Kate let out another terrible scream. "_Kate!"_

Lineal laughed and turned his wand upon Draco, who collapsed next to Kate, but refused to scream. Kate, recovering, stroked his hair. Finally, he lifted the curse, and turned to Oliver, but paused. Then, he cast another Unforgivable.

This time, it wasn't the Cruciatus. It was the Imperius. Oliver felt himself forced into an odd, dreamy state. He pulled out his wand, and found himself using the Cruciatus curse on Tessa.

**Tessa**

She thought she screamed. She didn't know. All she knew was this terrible pain, ripping through her, intensified by the injuries she already had. She looked up at Oliver, saw his clouded eyes, and wondered when it would end. "Please," she hissed, "Kill me. Now."

Lineal looked over at Oliver and removed the curse from him. He gazed down at her, met her pain filled eyes, and dropped to his knees. Her cuts had begun to bleed again, and she spat out more blood before he cradled her limp form in his arms. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry," he repeated into her grimy, knotted, hair, the shine gone from it.

"You know?" Lineal seemed to be having fun. "I think that you two could be quite entertaining for me. I'll put your friends in a separate chamber. I suppose the guards will have a bit of fun watching this."

He motioned to the guards, who stepped forward, yanked Kate and Draco up, and tugged them out of the room. They were both silent. Immediately, three more guards took their places. Lineal swept past Oliver, who still had a barely-conscious Tessa cradled in his lap. From her haze, she saw the new guards stepping forward and moving to wrench her from his grip, but he moved surprisingly quickly and stood in front of her. "Don't you touch her," Oliver snarled defensively.

The guards looked at each other, (which was slightly humorous looking, because actually only two looked at each other, but the last one looked toward the other two, not realizing that neither was paying attention to him) and tried to move around him, but impressively, he kicked the legs out from one of them, backhanded the other, and was just turning to face the last when a sharp fist reached out and punched him right at the base of his spine. He fell with a cry, smacking his head on the concrete and becoming unconscious. Tessa tried to cry his name but found she was unable to make a sound, from the curse or the broken ribs she didn't know.

**Oliver**

When Oliver came to, he was chained to a railing in a richly furnished room, Tessa barely awake next to him. Her eyes were at half mast, exhaustion showing easily through her slump. "This was the same room I was in last time," she whispered gratingly. Her hands were unchained. "Tessa," Oliver began, "how come you're not chained up?"

"Well, apparently, I'm less of a threat when I've got four broken ribs, a split lip, a dislocated shoulder, and a couple cuts." She spat out more blood to the side while the gashes on her collarbone and cheek trickled similarly.

"Oh, Tess, I'm so sorry about-"

"Shut up," she half laughed, half sobbed. "It wasn't your fault."

"Yes, it was. But anyway, is there a possibility of you getting to my pocket?"

"What's in your pocket?"

"A Snitch. Just grab it, please, I'll explain later."

She dug around in his pockets a bit, finding his wand, a Honeyduke's toffee wrapper, a receipt from Quality Quidditch Supplies, and a Knut before finally withdrawing a Snitch. Before doing anything else, though, she picked up his wand, tapped the manacles around Oliver's wrists, and whispered, "_Alohomora."_ They clicked open and Oliver's hands dropped, relieving the aching muscles in his shoulders. He quietly thanked her, and brushed a small kiss over her cracked, bleeding lips. She shivered in response, then drew away, handing him the Snitch.

He spoke clearly to it: "Draco Malfoy and Kate Sato. We are in the Solar, the same room as before. We're both relatively fine, no signs of Lineal yet. Are both of you all right, and what room are you in?" he finished, and the Snitch flew off to do its job."

"Where'd you get that?" Tessa asked.

"Dumbledore," Oliver said simply. He knew she'd understand. She did, nodded, and leaned down on her back. They waited.

About half an hour later, the Snitch came zooming back just as the door opened and Lineal slowly entered. Quickly, Oliver stuffed everything back in his pockets and held his wrists behind his back to make it look as though he was still chained. Tessa lay wearily on the ground, but her job took no acting. She really was as weak as she looked.

Lineal walked leisurely over to them, then abruptly kicked Tessa in the ribs yet again. She screamed, eyes flying open, and Oliver gritted his teeth against a wave of fury for the man who was torturing her.

"Get up," Lineal snapped at them, "unlocking" Oliver's shackles with a tap of his wand. Oliver stood up and knelt next to Tessa, who was repressing more cries with difficulty. He didn't want her hurt more, and helped her to stand very slowly.

She leaned on him for support as Lineal led them down to a large room, the Great Hall, he supposed. What seemed like the entire population of the guards of Skremmende was gathered there, with a few servants. There was a large clearing in the middle, where Lineal stood and spoke to the guards. "For a while now, all you have been bugging me for a bit of entertainment. Well, here it is." He gestured to Oliver and Tessa, who were now making their way to Lineal, who then flicked his wand at Oliver, who was immediately thrown back and placed in some sort of invisible cage, with a silencing spell placed on him.

None of the people in the Hall were looking at him now, and he used the chance to take out the Snitch and listen to what it had to say. Draco's voice came to him.

"Oliver, we're both fine. Kate's sleeping and I think we're being kept in the Buttery, that's what she said. It's supposed to be in the cellar next to the kitchen, that shouldn't be too hard to find."

The Snitch, finished with its work, curled up its silver wings and dropped back into Oliver's hand. He tucked the tiny golden ball back into his pocket and turned back to the middle of the Hall.

**Tessa **

Tessa swayed a bit without the support of Oliver. She didn't really want to be entertainment to a bunch of creeps, but it appeared she didn't have a choice. Lineal pointed his wand at her, and she braced herself for the pain.

He cast the Unforgivable non-verbally this time, and she didn't make a sound as she collapsed to the hard ground. The pain wasn't as bad this time; she supposed it was because she knew it was coming.

Tessa took refuge in the pain. She buried herself in it, trying to ignore the cheers and taunts from the crowd. Lineal seemed frustrated with her lack of screaming. He cast the curse again, and the pain doubled, forcing her consciousness out of it and back into the real world. She cried out, arched her back into the stones as the mass of gold and purple jeered and laughed. Then someone ran out from the horde, yelling, "Stop it! Stop!"

The pain stopped suddenly as Lineal turned to the lone figure. "What did you say?"

Tessa, getting up slowly, realized it was the maid from the Solar. "I said stop."

Oliver ran out of nowhere, tackling the girl to the ground as Lineal sent a killing curse toward her. It hit a guard instead, who crumpled easily. Lineal seemed to go insane trying to assassinate the maid, and was killing his own guards left and right as she ran quickly along with Oliver. Tessa staggered along towards the door as quickly as she could, the sharp stone digging into her bare feet.

Oliver was waiting for her there with the maid. "What's your name?" she asked her, closing the doors quickly with one hand to barricade the guards.

"Fletning," the girl said, "and where do we need to go?"

"The Buttery," Oliver said, helping Tessa along.

"Are you badly hurt?" Fletning was concerned about her. "I can't mend bones fully, but I can help you with that shoulder and can probably get your ribs to just cracked instead of fully broken like they are right now."

"Er, yeah, that'd be great," Tessa gasped, already short on breath. Fletning stopped and, instead of doing magic, grasped the other girl's shoulder. "This will hurt," she warned, and jerked her hands back. Tessa let out an agony-filled cry as, with an awful grating noise, the shoulder fit back into place. Then the pain was gone, and she could move her arm perfectly again.

"Thanks," she said in awe, and Fletning smiled before producing a wand from the back of her dress and pointed at Tessa's middle. She muttered a bit, and Tessa felt the pain recede a little and regained some of her breath.

Fletning then moved on purposefully, leading them to the Buttery. Oddly, Tessa still had to spit out blood from her lip. Apparently, all this stress was not helping it heal.

They reached a set of narrow stairs, which they quickly descended, finding Kate and Draco sleeping, arms bound to another metal rail. Oliver pulled out his wand (now that Tessa was capable of rational thought, realized it was what he had used to escape from the cage) and unlocked the shackles quickly, while Fletning shook Kate and Draco awake. They complied quickly, stood, and Kate went to hug her best friend. They embraced, and only then did they realize that Lineal had followed them down there. He looked quite insane.

He pointed his wand at all of them, and Oliver and Fletning were forced to drop theirs. Kate, while wandless, pulled the paintbrush from her bun, and it grew quickly into a shining sword. Before the madly laughing Lineal could react, she had reached out and sliced his wand into two pieces. He froze and a look of crazy outrage flew onto his face; he leaped at her but she dodged with Chaser's agility and held the sword to his throat.

"Where. Is. My. Wand."

"I'm not telling you. I'll never tell you!"

"Draco!" she called to her boyfriend, "your Veritaserum!"

Draco ran over, took out the tiny bottle and dripped a bit into Lineal's open mouth.

"Lineal," he said, roughly shaking the prince, "Where is Kate's wand?"

Lineal slowly raised his arm to point at Fletning. She looked surprised and raised her hands as if to say, "I never had it!"

"Where? Did you give it to her?"

"No," Lineal croaked pathetically, "I slipped it down her boot when she wasn't paying attention."

Sure enough, when Fletning dug around in her boot, she found Kate's wand. She took it, tucked the sword/paintbrush back into her hair, and stood up.

"Now, we've got to get back to Hogwarts."


	11. The Owlery, a Fight

**This will be my last chapter for a bit, about a week, because tomorrow's the first day of school and I'm going to be a bit busy… I think I'll have enough time on the weekend. What a weird way to start a school year, on a Tuesday. **

**Anyway, please oh please review or I will be terribly sad. It makes me happy when I see someone has added me as an alert or a favorite, but then I get sad because so few people review. And I might not even update until the next weekend! Brain says: That's not nice! You shouldn't be threatening them just because they're too busy to review! Me: But they're not too busy to read it! Surely they have a few moments to write a few words! Brain: Shut up. Stop being so inconsiderate. Me: *grumble grumble***

**Well, ignoring that, chapter 11:**

**Tessa**

As they rushed along the halls, Kate and Draco kept an eye out for guards while Tessa stumbled along, helped by Fletning and Oliver. Kate, in attempt to be friendly to the maid, kept up a steady stream of questions. "How did you come to work for the Ondels? Were you treated well? Are you a witch? What's your last name? Do you like to jump rope? Do you have any siblings? How old are they? How old are you?"

Fletning laughed. "My mother was one of Lineal's mistresses. I was raised as a maid, as Lineal never wanted to acknowledge his illegitimate children."

"Wait, you mean you're royalty?" Kate cut in.

"Technically, yes. And I was treated relatively well, especially compared to the other maids. I think my superiors figured it out and didn't want to mistreat me in case Lineal did step in. I am a witch, pureblood, and my last name is Magifold. I have never jumped rope, but I have heard a few girls talking about it and might try it someday. I have many half siblings, other children of my father's mistresses, and maybe a few full ones. I do not know any of them. I am sixteen."

"You're the same age as Oliver, then. He's a sixth year, the rest of us are fifth years. We could take you back to Hogwarts and see if Dumbledore would let you in."

"Oh, yes," said Fletning enthusiastically, "I'd like that very much."

Just then Tessa stopped. "Does anyone even know where we're going?"

Kate, Draco, and Oliver shook their heads, but Fletning continued along cheerfully. "Well, the Owlery, of course!" she said. "We can't get back to your school without contacting someone there!"

_Oh. Duh,_ was what everyone thought after she said that. They quietly carried on. At one point, they came to an intersection, and Fletning took the left hallway, unhesitant. Finally, they entered a room almost identical to the Hogwarts Owlery.

Tessa, who had a way with owls, made a funny clicking noise with her tongue and a beautiful female barn soared down to her arm. Draco pulled out a scrap of paper and scribbled something down with a bit of charcoal pencil that Kate had in her pocket. (Kate just tended to have random bits of art supplies with her at all times; it was a habit she shared with Tessa.)

Draco handed the pencil back to Kate and tried to give the note to the owl, but she drew back and snapped her sharp beak at Draco's hand. He jumped back, but not before the bird caught of his hand, drawing blood. "You do it, then," he said, and Tessa took the paper with her free hand. She gave it to the barn owl.

"Take this to Hogwarts. Go as fast as you can, then find the Owlery and stay there as long as you want."

The owl hooted and then took off, out the window and over the ocean. She was in for a long flight. That was why Tessa had told her to stay at Hogwarts.

"Now, I suppose we've got to just barricade ourselves in here and wait."

They conjured several heavy chairs and couches, then levitated them in front of the heavy door. Draco created a lock in the heavy wood. There was no key.

Then, exhausted, they collapsed on the couches and fell asleep.

**Oliver**

Oliver woke abruptly to the sound of banging on the door. He glanced at his watch. It was forty five minutes after they'd fallen asleep. He rolled off the couch, fully alert, and woke up the others. They fell of their "beds" and drew their wands.

"They're coming up the wall!" Fletning screamed. "I don't have a wand!"

Oliver ran to the window and looked down. Several robed guards were indeed scaling the stone tower, and Oliver sent a stunning spell towards them. They tumbled back into each other, finally landing in the rough sand of the beach below them.

Behind them, a large blast shook the door, but didn't make it all the way through. They heard Lineal's voice.

"Get them! They have kidnapped my betrothed!"

Several loud explosions continued to resound outside, and a small hole appeared in the center of the wood. A wand tip poked through, and a red jet of light shot through. All 5 of them ducked and the beam struck the opposite wall, creating a large burn mark.

Just when they thought the door was going to break down, a loud, deep voice rumbled around them.

"Lineal of Skremmende, I believe you have a few students of mine. I would like to speak with you."

All but Fletning slumped in relief. _Dumbledore,_ they thought.


	12. Dumbledore, Home

**So sorry about the wait! I've been pretty busy, and my BFF Dream Author has finally bugged me into updating.**

**And please, oh, please review.**

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><p><strong>Oliver<strong>

Fletning dashed frantically about the tower room. "I had my wand here! I swear I did! Where could it be?"

"Fletning," Oliver said tersely, "Please, shut up."

"Oh, sorry."

"It's fine."

They had been trapped in the tower for a few hours now, not knowing what was going on with Dumbledore and Lineal, or if anything was going on at all. Draco and Kate were curled up on one of the couches again, dozing. Tessa was slumped in another chair, her breathing becoming ragged again from her ribs. The healing spell, apparently, hadn't been permanent, and the bone was beginning to separate once more. Oliver had been hovering next to her, trying to get her to sit up straighter, or lie down, but she had developed a burning fever and wouldn't wake up.

Suddenly, Draco jerked awake. "What's going on? Has Dumbledore said anything yet?"

"No," Oliver replied shortly. "And Tessa's not doing well."

"I hope the old man's happy. He's had us trapped in here, how long? Tessa's dying, Kate's exhausted, and we're all starving."

"It's not his fault," Oliver snapped. "Tessa is not dying, and look! Your girlfriend is sleeping! How's that for a cure to exhaustion?"

Draco got up and stomped threateningly over to Oliver, hands rolling into fists. "You sick arse. It's been five hours since he came, and if you haven't noticed, he hasn't done _a single damned thing_ yet. And of course she's dy-"

Tessa abruptly spoke, albeit hoarsely and weakly. "I'm not dead yet." She got up, slowly and painfully. "Now, stop going at each other, both of you, or we'll all be dead by sunrise." She walked over to the window, which was now filled with a dark blue sky, spotted with dull-looking stars.

Oliver and Draco exchanged glances, their argument forgotten. Then they looked at Tessa. Her figure was bowed, her face pale, tears streaking down the white, hollowed cheeks. Her dark brown eyes reflected the night in them.

Then she crumpled.

It was if the world was in slow motion. Oliver watched as those eyes closed, then her knees gave out, and she began to fall. Backwards, her thin hands coming out as if to gather balance, but none came.

Oddly, you'd think that if the world was in slow motion, Oliver would have been able to walk over and catch her before she hit the hard stone floor.

But no, he was frozen, his expression mirrored in Fletning's horrified face across the tower. Then Tessa was on the dusty floor, arms out, palms up, head to the side, legs bent as if she was merely sleeping.

For a second, there was silence in the tower, and not even the owls hooted. They seemed to know the severity of what had just happened. Oliver was truly, completely frightened now. Tessa could be dead, for all they knew.

Then he rushed to her side, broken out of his shocked daze. He picked up her head and felt at her neck for a pulse. _Please. Please, don't let her die now. Not after we've almost gotten out of this._ His fingers fumbled, though, shaking badly. He couldn't tell whether her heart was beating or not. "Draco," he rasped,"Come here. Tell me if you can feel a pulse or not. Hurry."

Draco ran over, and picked up Tessa's right wrist. Oliver held his breath as Draco felt the underside. _She had to be alive. She can't be- no._ He couldn't think of that.

It felt like minutes, hours, _years_, goddamnit, that he waited as the blonde in front of him looked for a pulse in his girlfriend's wrist. Then, slowly, Draco looked up with an unfathomable expression on his face.

"She's not…?" Oliver couldn't make his mouth form the word. _Dead._

"No. She's alive. The pulse is faint, but steady."

Oliver let out the breath he'd been holding in and, gently, picked up Tessa's limp form and held it to him.

Draco stood up abruptly and walked over to Kate, who'd woken and was now standing, staring fixedly at her best friend. Oliver heard him say something to her, then enfold her in a hug. And probably something else, but he really didn't want to find out if those two were snogging.

"You know, this is great and all, but I really need to find my wand and some food. None of us have eaten at least for thirty-six hours." Fletning cut in. It was true, they were starving. As for the wand, well, they could deal with that in Diagon Alley.

Oliver opened his mouth to reply, but a knock on the barricaded doors interrupted him. Lineal's voice rang out around them.

"Your headmaster-" he paused as if to consider his choice of words- "has requested that he be allowed to talk to you. I have granted his request. You must come out now. He is waiting."

"How do we know that you haven't got him, bashed in the head somewhere, and you're just trying to lure us out so you can finish us off for good?"

"You don't." Lineal seemed to say this snidely. "You will just have to trust me. And after all, what have you got to lose?"

Oliver considered this. He looked at Draco, who seemed to have come to the same conclusion. There were their lives, of course, but they had already had to worry about that so much, it didn't really seem like he cared anymore. If they lived, then they lived. If they died, well, then, that was that, wasn't it?

"All right," Oliver sighed. "We'll come."

The odd group limped down the hallway: Tessa, still unconscious, supported by Kate and Draco, with Oliver hovering once again, fretting over her fever, ribs, or cuts. Fletning scanned the floors as they walked, looking for her lost wand.

After what seemed like eons of trudging behind the smug-looking Lineal, they entered an ornately decorated room. Dumbledore was there, holding a cup of tea and smiling slightly, at least until he got a good look at his four students and their companion.

They must have looked a fright; bloodied and broken.

Dumbledore leapt to his feet; surprisingly fast for his age, and a murderous look spread across his feet. "Prince Lineal," he said, angrily but no less polite for it, "What have you done to my students? I assure you, I will not stand for them to be-"

Lineal looked impatient. "Look. They did this to themselves."

"Really?" Dumbledore looked like he was barely containing his anger. "And how did these children manage to break their own bones and knock themselves out cold?"

Lineal did not appreciate this. "She," he gestured to Tessa, "wouldn't stay with me. None of this had happened if she had agreed to be in her rightful place as fellow ruler of Skremmende, and hadn't called her little friends along."

Oliver snapped at him. "Don't you dare try to blame this on Tessa!"

Dumbledore held up a hand to him. "Mr. Wood. Please."

"Sorry, Sir."

All conversation stopped when Tessa moaned quietly. They stood in apprehension, except Lineal, who looked rather bored. He was still quite insane, though. They knew that.

"Tessa? Can you hear me?" Oliver took her into his arms. She made a small sound in reply. It sounded like a mix between a sigh and a gasp.

"Oliver," she croaked out, "Where the hell are we?"

"We're meeting with Dumbledore. Lineal's still here, but we're safe right now."

She mumbled something about how she should have stayed unconscious. Dumbledore swept up to them. "Lineal, if you would please excuse us for a second. I must treat my students."

Apparently, Lineal's insanity had made him a bit duller in the head, and he retreated from the room immediately. No sane person who wanted to keep ahold of their prisoners would have done that.

Oliver lowered the barely-conscious Tessa onto the couch, and stepped back to give Dumbledore some room. "Will she be all right?" He asked tensely.

"Overall, yes, Mr. Wood. She may have a few small problems for a while, but on the whole, she will be okay." Dumbledore waved his wand over Tessa's still, quiet form. As they watched, her breathing became normal, no longer ragged, and blood stopped trickling from her mouth. The cuts on her cheek and collarbone closed up, leaving a faint pink line under the layer of red. Kate placed her hand on her best friend's forehead and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Her fever's gone."

Dumbledore smiled slightly. "Yes. She should be walking up anytime now. Do you know of anything else that happened to her?"

Fletning piped up. "She had a dislocated shoulder. But I fixed it."

"Good," Dumbledore mused. "And you are…?"

"Fletning, Sir. I was a maid of the prince's, but he tried to kill me, so I joined these four."

Tessa stirred on the couch, then her eyes fluttered open. She groaned. "I feel terrible…"

Oliver smiled. She was alive, at least.

**Tessa**

Sometime in her sleep, she felt better. The awful, sickening pain in her stomach softened, then disappeared. She felt her ribs come back into shape and mend together. There was a sharp flash of pain, and she could tell that the cuts on her collarbone and cheek were healing. The incessant cold from the fever vanished.

But still, she felt terrible. There was an awful headache pounding through her brain, and her limbs just _hurt._ She felt too exhausted to lift a single finger, much less two full eyelids. Somehow, she managed it, and saw Oliver looking back at her. She mumbled something, and he smiled in obvious relief. Satisfied that he was all right, she made to let her eyes drift shut again, then saw silver hair out of the corner of her eyes. _Dumbledore,_ she thought weakly. _Finally._

Tessa felt herself being picked up and leaned against a hard, warm chest. She knew it was Oliver. She wanted to fall back asleep, was actually trying, but she couldn't. She only lay there for a few minutes and listened to Dumbledore healing the others.

Then Lineal burst in. Tessa's eyes flew open just in time to see the mad prince jump into the room, brandishing a new wand. Fletning gasped in recognition. He had found it somewhere in the halls!

Tessa got slowly to her feet, even though every movement made her muscles scream in protest. Oliver got up too, and stood protectively between her and the mental man.

"Now," Lineal began, "Which one you shall I kill again?" He apparently thought that he'd already killed them. "I think," he said, focusing his gaze on Dumbledore, "you."

He made a move to cast a hex. "_Confringo!_"

Easily, Dumbledore put up a shield charm. The fiery spell extinguished quickly. Then Dumbledore waved his wand a second time, and Lineal was tied up in uncomfortable-looking ropes.

At a signal from the headmaster, they hurried out of the room. He seemed to know his way around the castle, and soon they were climbing another spiral staircase up to the top of a tower. Dumbledore pulled a small, thin chain out of his robes, tapped it with his wand, and muttered, "_Portus."_ The chain glowed blue, then faded back to its plain silver.

"We have five minutes until we leave."

Eventually, five minutes turned out to be very little time. With forty-five seconds to go, they heard footsteps coming up the stairs. Kate risked a look down the staircase. She looked up, alarmed. _It's Lineal, _she mouthed. How had he gotten free? A guard must have coming along and released him.

Then, with thirty-five seconds to go, Lineal jumped onto the tower floor, holding not a wand, but a sword. Fletning's wand was tucked into his belt. He slashed aimlessly at them, and Tessa pulled Oliver out of the way of the blade at the last second. Draco stepped in front of Kate, but she pushed him out of the way and drew the paintbrush out of her hair. The brush grew quickly into a long sword, and she slashed at Lineal in return. They exchanged blows, neither gaining ground on the other.

Draco seemed to be torn between protecting his girlfriend and letting her kill Lineal. The prince stood there, barely managing to parry Kate's hits, but still getting a few back at her. Kate, however, spun gracefully, easily dodging Lineal's slashes. She couldn't a good angle on him, though, and with five seconds left to go, she was obviously tiring. She seemed to come to a descision.

"Tess!" Kate yelled, and tossed the sword towards her friend. Tessa grabbed the hilt out of the air, darted around Lineal, and slipped the edge of the blade along Lineal's side. All of them looked away towards the Portkey, which was beginning to glow blue. They tried not to listen to Lineal's wails of pain, and Oliver grabbed Tessa's wrist and planted her hand on the chain. She was horrified at what she had done.

The world spun, and there was a tug at her stomach. A second later, they landed in Dumbledore's office.

It was over.


	13. Silence, Another Kiss

I'm going to ask you people a question, and I would like it if you answered it. Does this story need anything? Like more stuff between Tessa and Oliver, or Draco and Kate, or just more happening in the chapters? I really don't want this to be boring for anyone, so tell me and I'll try to take it into consideration for my next chapter.

So just a warning, there will most likely not be many Tessa POV in this chapter, since she's supposed to be in sort of a post-traumatic daze, and I don't think writing in her POV would be very interesting. You'll get plenty of Oliver's fretting, though.

Really sorry I haven't updated in so long, but thank you mothermonstersElphaba and Dream Author for bugging me about it. And if you have some extra time, review, and then go and read my other story, Caused by the Cruciatus Curse. I'm planning on making that one my long-term story, not to be ended any time soon.

Oh, and it's a Saturday night when this chapter begins.

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><p>Oliver<p>

They landed right outside Dumbledore's office. Oliver felt Tessa wrench her wrist out of his grip, and he looked back to see her staring straight ahead, swaying. One hand was splattered in blood and clutching a paintbrush. The other was clenched into a fist, the skin stretched white over the prominent bone.

Dumbledore brushed off the gaping students surrounding them, said, "Lemon Drop," and ushered Kate, Draco, Oliver, and Tessa onto the spiral staircase. The steps began to move smoothly up, and they found themselves inside the massive tower of the Headmaster's office.

Dumbledore conjured up a few chairs, and Oliver and Draco sat down. Kate started to, then got up and walked over to Tessa. She gently tugged the paintbrush out of her friend's grip and tucked it back into her hair. Kate led Tessa to one of the chairs, then sat down next to her.

"To begin," the Professor said, sitting heavily in his chair, "I would like to thank you. It was a huge mistake on my part to underestimate the Ondels. You all did extremely well." Out of the corner of his eye, Oliver saw Tessa shaking her head doubtfully. "Even you, Miss Feire. But," he paused, eyeing them all individually, "I would like to impress upon you that the danger is not over. I know that Lineal will not rest until he has you, Miss Feire, in that horrid castle of his."

"Excuse me," said Tessa tiredly, "but I have a headache. Can I go to bed now?"

Oliver looked at his watch. It was 8:30 pm. From what he knew of Tessa, she usually didn't go to bed until after ten.

Dumbledore nodded. "Of course." He snapped his thin fingers, and a tiny house elf appeared in the room. "Please take Miss Feire to her room in Ravenclaw Tower. Bring a sleeping potion."

The elf bowed, took Tessa's wrist, and they disappeared with a crack.

"Now," Dumbledore said, "I will not pretend to know what you have all gone through tonight. I know you want to get to bed, but remember this: Your friend will take a few days to go back to ordinary. She may be quiet, or easily angered, or just extremely emotional all the time. Give her time and don't try to rush her. I'm excusing you all from all classes until Wednesday." Oliver, Draco, and Kate nodded. "Good night."

They filed out of the office. Kate turned away at the corridor that led to the Ravenclaw dormitories, giving Draco a last kiss and Oliver a slight hug. The two boys continued down the corridor. "You know," Draco said, "Just because she hugged you doesn't mean that-"

Oliver cracked a grin. "Yeah. I know. I've got a girlfriend."

"Just sayin'." Draco smiled a bit, then turned down a dark corridor. "'Night."

"See you." Oliver carried on down the hall until he came to the Gryffindor common room. A group of people waited for him. His Quidditch team: Fred, George, Robin, everyone.

Oh, no. There'd been a Quidditch game today.

"Where the hell were you, Oliver?" Fred asked, getting up. "We had to use Katie as Keeper! You're just lucky Ravenclaw was missing a Chaser and their Seeker!"

Oliver shifted on his feet. "How was the game?"

"We won, only because their replacement Seeker sucked. But that's beside the point. Where were you?"

"I was…away."

"Tell us where!" Kate pressed. "You owe us that much."

Oliver sighed. "All right, I'll tell you, and you'll learn where that Chaser and Seeker were as well. It's a long story.

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><p>By the time Oliver had finished, the entire team was yawning. He'd glossed over the more gory parts, but they all now knew about Tessa and Oliver, the Ondels, and Kate and Draco.<p>

"Well, now that that's cleared up, I'm going to bed," George yawned. "Good luck with the girlfriend, Ollie." Fred followed suit, and the two plodded up the stairs to the dormitory.

Robin, Katie, Angelina, and Alicia began their own conversation, but soon said good night and trudged up towards their own rooms. Not long after, Oliver himself felt the strong fingers of fatigue tugging through his mind, and walked upstairs. He barely managed to dress in his flannel red-and-gold pajama pants and a T-shirt before descending into a deep sleep.

Oliver was awakened at eight by one of his dorm mates, a burly boy named Martin whose attitude was at odds with his build. "Oliver," Martin said quietly, "There's a girl downstairs who wants to see you."

Oliver shot up straight in bed. "What's she look like?"

"Long black hair, a little short. She's pretty cute, looks Japanese."

Oliver's hopes vanished. He'd thought it was Tessa. If it was Kate at the door, then something must not be going right. "Could you tell her I'll be right down?"

"Sure." Martin turned back and started eagerly down the stairs.

Oliver jumped out of bed, got quickly dressed in a pair of jeans, a chocolate-colored pullover, and old Adidas shoes. Tucking his wand in his pocket, he ran downstairs, where Martin was still chatting easily with Kate outside the portrait hole. She seemed tense, though, and let out a barely perceptible sigh when she saw Oliver.

Martin nicely stepped out of the way when Oliver approached. "Hey, Kate."

"Oliver, I know Dumbledore said she wouldn't be normal, but Tessa's just not doing anything! The only word she's said since seven this morning is your name."

That didn't seem like Tessa. She wasn't one to be particularly needy or clingy. "All right," Oliver said. "Let's go."

As they walked quickly down the corridor towards Ravenclaw tower, Kate started talking again. "I tried to get Draco, but the guy who answered their door was being very rude. I don't suppose he'll be too happy when he hears that nobody let him know I was there." A smile twitched at her mouth. "I never did really like Slytherins. Except for Draco."

Oliver changed the subject. "So what has Tess been doing for the past hour?"

"Just sitting in the dorm. Every so often, she mutters your name, but she doesn't talk unless someone asks her a direct question. I swear, it's like those weird vampire books my Muggle aunt gave me for Christmas, only Tess has so much more reason to be like this."

Oliver cracked a smile. He'd heard about that series, and honestly thought it sounded terrible.

They stopped in front of the great wooden door. Kate picked up the eagle knocker and let it drop back down. A clear, feminine voice rang out. "What is the cause of the Draught of Living Death?"

Without hesitating, Kate replied. "A sleep so deep it appears the drinker is dead."

"Correct," the voice said. The heavy door swung open, revealing the Ravenclaw common room. A few of the students, lingering in the deep blue room, stared as Kate led Oliver up to the girls' dorm. Before heading up the stairs, though, Kate tapped her wand on the railing of the staircase.

"It turns into a slide if a guy tries to come up," she said over her shoulder. "Tess figured out the spell to prevent it." They continued up the marble steps, and came to another large wooden door. Kate opened it and they entered the nearly empty dorm. Tessa sat on one of the large canopy beds, clad in shorts and a red tank top, staring straight down. Her hand moved slightly as she heard Kate and Oliver enter the room, but she said nothing. Oliver walked over to her, sat down gently on the bed.

"Tessa," Oliver said gently. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Kate leave the dorm. "It's me. Oliver." Silence reigned.

Finally, Tessa spoke. "I know it's you. I've known it's you since before we met."

"Tess. Look at me."

"I don't need to look at you."

"Why not?"

"Because I know it's you."

"Tess," Oliver sighed. "Please. Just look at me."

"No."

"Why not?"

"I told you."

"Give me another reason."

"Because."

"That's not a reason." There was silence in the room again. "What can I do to get you to look at me?"

"Anything."

"But I am doing something. That qualifies as anything, right?"

"Yeah."

"Then why aren't you looking at me?"

"'Cause anything could be something else."

Oliver sighed, then got off the bed and crouched down in front of her. He set both hands on her upper arms, rose up, and kissed her. Tessa responded immediately, her long fingers rising to twist into his dark hair. He felt her mouth curve upward into a smile, and he nipped at her bottom lip. His hands slowly slid farther up her shoulders and slipped into the sleek sea of her hair, twining through the lengths.

She pulled away from him, breathing hard. Oliver met her eyes and smiled. "If that wasn't anything, I don't know what is."

"You know," she said quietly, "I should do that more often. The results really are quite satisfying."

"If you want me to kiss you, just ask. I'd really rather not go through that sort of conversation again."

"All right. Will you kiss me, Oliver?"

"Later. Go take a shower and meet me on the staircase to the Great Hall."

Tessa cracked a smile. "Come on. Just one more."

Oliver brushed a kiss over her mouth. She tried to press closer, but he drew away and pulled her up off the bed. Pushing her gently toward the bathroom, he said, "Go take a shower, stinky. I'll see you at breakfast."

Oliver turned away and made his way back down the steps into the common room, where Kate was waiting for him. "How'd it go?"

"Fine. She's in the shower now. Come down for breakfast with me?"

"Sure. Let's stop by the Slytherin dorms and try to get Draco again."

They left the common room again. Oliver checked his watch. It was 8:30. "Will Draco be up yet?"

"Probably not." Kate grinned. "His normal weekend wakeup time is around eleven."

The two continued walking down the corridor toward the Slytherin common room. When they reached the bare expanse of wall Kate confirmed was the entrance, Oliver reached out and knocked the stone with his fist. About a minute later, the wall melted away and a tousle-haired boy appeared in the doorway.

"What?"

"Do you know Draco Malfoy?" Kate asked sharply.

"Who doesn't?"

"Do you know his girlfriend?"

"Seen her once or twice, yeah."

"I'm her. Go get Draco and tell him I'm out here."

"Why should I do that?"

"Because if you don't, I'll tell him that this is the second time I've been here and he hasn't been told. You wouldn't want that, would you?"

The boy shot Kate a scathing look and disappeared into the common room. A few minutes later, Draco appeared, holding the boy's arm roughly.

"This little arse tells me you've been kept waiting. Want me to do something with him?"

"No thanks," Kate said with a smile. "C'mon, it's time for breakfast."

Draco looked down at himself, dressed in loose green pajama pants and a black shirt that said, "Slytherin Rox Your Sox," in big green letters. "Ah, sure! Let's go!"

Draco let go of the boy, who glared once more at Kate, then turned around and went into the Slytherin common room. The two took each other's hands, and Oliver hid his smile. He stopped at the entry to the Great Hall and let Kate and Draco continue on.

Oliver was just sitting down on the steps of the great hall when Tessa walked up, her hair wet and dark, dressed in the clothes as before, with her lime green converse on. "C'mon," she said. "I'm hungry."

They walked into the Great Hall together. Many girls stared enviously at Tessa, whispered together and gestured rudely at their linked hands. She ignored them, though, and went to sit next to Kate at the Ravenclaw table. Oliver parted to sit with his team at the Gryffindor table.

Tessa

Walking over to Kate, Tessa saw Draco sitting with his best friend Blaise Zabini at the Slytherin table. She swung onto the bench across from Kate and began piling sausage onto her plate.

"How're you feeling?" Kate asked.

"Better."

"How much better?"

"A lot."

"Back to normal?"

"No. Not really."

"Well, don't get used to it, we've only been excused from class 'till Wednesday." Kate grinned at her best friend.

They ate in silence for a while. "Do we have homework?" Tessa asked.

"Dunno. Probably."

"Wow. For once, we don't have to worry about that sort of thing…" Tessa trailed off dreamily.

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><p>Tessa finished off her last piece of toast and stood up. Kate followed suit, and the two left the Great Hall and walked to the Quidditch pitch. Draco and Oliver were already in the air. They grabbed their brooms from the Ravenclaw locker room (they both had Nimbus Two Thousand and Ones) and took off.<p>

Oliver took the goal, Kate tried to score goals on him, and Draco and Tessa raced each other for the Snitch. It was only until two in the afternoon that they quit, sweaty and laughing.

Tessa still didn't feel completely normal. She jumped at every small noise, felt the back of her neck prickling as though someone was watching her. The world still seemed to pass in a daze, and she couldn't remember the last thing anyone said to her, even though it was only about thirty seconds ago.

She was tired of it. Why couldn't she be okay again?


	14. The Only Love Of The Prince

**Hey, here's a little foreshadowing chapter, in which I will attempt to regain your interest in this story that I have seemed to abandon, but haven't really. It's told all in Lineal's perspective. But no sympathy for him, please!**

* * *

><p>He was raging mad. First, he let those imbeciles get away, then he allowed one of them to nearly slice his guts out? And now he'd been confined to bed for a week in order to make sure the wound didn't open again. His royal doctors had been completely nonplussed as to why their healing charms hadn't worked.<p>

Lineal had his suspicions, though, that the sword that had been used upon him had been charmed. Dumbledore had showed up, after all, and he could have been behind this awful weapon. But now his mind was set upon one thing: finding the girl. The girl who was destined to become his wife, and although the chances of them falling in love were slim, she was the girl who he was going to spend his life with.

He had already thought of a plan; one that would make it final. Theresa Allaine Elconis Feire would be leaving with, marrying, and living with him at Skremmende.

Lineal had an idea of how he would make his point made. It would have to be somewhere public, and killing one of her obnoxious friends was mandatory. If he was lucky, it could be the blond one or the stocky brunette, but he knew the one that would cause her the most pain was the best friend.

He didn't really want to kill her; in his opinion, she was the most attractive. He'd been hoping to steal a kiss, maybe, when they'd been caught in Skremmende.

"M'lord, the physician says it's time for your rehabilitation."

Lineal's head whipped around. Standing at the doorway was a small, frightened looking boy. He was the page they'd hired in replacement of his illegitimate daughter. "Very well," the prince sighed. "You are dismissed. Tell him I'll be out soon." The boy dashed back out and closed the heavy wooden door.

He really didn't want to have to work on getting his functions back in order, but it was necessary if he wanted to recover properly from his injury. It was a horrid day outside, not a cloud in the sky, though that was because of the raging wind. His physician insisted upon holding his rehabilitation outdoors; he said it helped to see the sun once in a while.

Lineal moved slowly out of bed, dressed, and continued to walk out the door and through the corridor. His hand reached inside the pocket of his trousers and felt a small, ragged scrap of velvet. He stroked the cloth, making his way down to the lawn.

Every time a guard or maid passed, they would flatten themselves against the wall, bow their heads, and wait until he left them behind. This left him rather lonely, really. He had no brothers or sisters, no parents, wasn't able to marry anyone but she who hated him, and seeing as he was the only royal in the castle, no friends. He hated to think about himself this way, pathetically, but it was true.

He pushed the front doors open, making the gash in his side sting a bit, and continued out though the dead, brown grass and to the small, round physician waiting for him. The man seemed on the verge of being blown over, then rolled the half mile from where they were standing to the drop off into the sea. The wind buffeted Lineal as he walked, making his hair, which needed trimming, blow wildly around his face.

Lineal took his hand out of his pocket, holding the square of dark red velvet. It was something he'd picked up when he'd been out as a young man, exploring the world. From before his mum died and his father took ill and he had to come back and keep him company. It was a scrap of cloth from the dress of the only woman he'd ever loved.

Cecily.

They'd met when he was in Wales, posing as a wealthy merchant. Cecily was a noblewoman, to be married off, though she was only sixteen. She'd been in town for the fitting of her dress, and they'd seen each other at the market. He'd been shopping, looking for something suitable to bring back to his mother as a gift. She had just escaped from a flurry of measuring tapes.

Time had not been kind to him. Back then, he'd been envied by other men for his charm and looks. He was eighteen back then.

It had happened much like the expression "love at first sight." They'd seen each other in the crowded market, and he'd wondered what a beautiful, black-haired, grey-eyed beauty was doing without an escort. The wizarding town in Wales was very old-fashioned; men still wore breeches and waistcoats, women had to wear dresses that brushed the ground or they would be considered scandalous. Escorts were socially required for every lady over thirteen.

Cecily had approached him. He could still hear her first words to him: "Sir, I seem to have lost," she said in a perfect English accent, "my family. Would you mind helping me?"

He'd replied, "I will help you, my lady. Where would you like to look for them?"

"Anywhere they are likely to be, sir."

He had understood. Though she appeared to be asking for help in finding her family, it was only for the benefit of the crowd around them. She was asking him if he'd hide her from them.

They walked together through the market until he finally led her to a small apothecary. Cecily seemed slightly confused at this, but didn't question his decision. A second later, they were descending a small staircase into a dark storage room. Lineal and his companion then strolled leisurely beneath the low ceilings, into the left fork in the corridor, up another set of stairs, and then they were emerging into a narrow alley. It was nearly dark.

Expertly, Lineal guided them through the alley and back out into the main road. They had somehow gotten to the other side of the town, somewhere that Cecily's mother had no chance of finding her. Cecily breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you. I can find lodging here, and perhaps I won't have to be married at all."

An insane idea struck him. "You could sleep in the extra room where I'm staying."

Cecily smiled at this idea. "That's even better. Thank you, I think I'll take you up on that."

Together, they entered his rooms. Nobody had blinked an eye at his companion. That first night, Lineal got no sleep.

On the second, he had to get up multiple times.

On the third, he thought it was impossible for a man to go around Wales with the girl he loved, be totally exhausted, and still not be able to sleep.

On the fourth night, Cecily came to him.

He'd slept that night.

"Are you ready, M'lord?"

Lineal realized he'd been reminiscing about Cecily for several minutes, staring at the scrap of red fabric. The wind had not let up at all. "Yes, Harford, I think I am."

The physician realized what he'd been staring at. "You must let it go, M'lord. She will not be the only one."

"Let it go, yes," Lineal murmured. He held up his hand and let the last fragment of his love for Cecily slip away. He watched it fly off into the distance.

"M'lord?"

"I'm ready, Harford."

His heart felt as though it had been ripped in two.


	15. Chapter 15

Tons of apologies for the lack of updates, and now I'm going to grovel at your feet, begging you for forgiveness… no, I'm just going to try to write a long, good chapter and get a few reviews.

Tessa

She was nearly back to normal. The steady companionship of Kate and Oliver had convinced her that there wasn't someone tailing her constantly. She no longer jumped at every small noise and sudden movement, and she didn't find the need to glance around every few seconds, searching for the minutest shift in the shadows.

It was the weekend right now, and Tessa was happy. She and Kate were wading in the Black Lake, dressed in short sleeved t-shirts and jeans rolled up above their knees. Every so often, one would see an old quill or a scrap of parchment half buried in the silt, and they would set it aside to dry in the sun.

Eventually, Tessa looked up and saw Oliver walking toward them., hands shoved in his jeans pockets. As he approached, he said, "Hey, lunch is ready. You coming in or should I bring you something?"

"I'll come in for lunch if you kiss me."

"Well, seeing as you're about two and a half feet out in the lake, you'll need to come in farther before I can even reach you." Out of the corner of her eye, Tessa saw Kate grin and turn away. "And anyway, I think a kiss is a pretty small price to pay for getting you to have lunch with me. Got anything else in mind?"

"Let me think…" Tessa paused. "Take me to Hogsmeade next weekend."

"Done." Tessa gasped as Oliver leaned over the water, grasped her arm, and pulled her out of the water towards him. He captured her lips with his, and she tangled her wet fingers in his dark brown hair, making strands of it nearly black.

A voice cut through their kiss from a Professor exiting the Greenhouses. "Wood, Feire, take it somewhere else."

Oliver turned around and glared at Snape's retreating back. "Old bat," he growled, turning back to Tessa.

"Come on. We've got lunch, remember?" Tessa turned to Kate. "You coming, 'zo?" It was a nickname of the nickname she'd recently been given, Katezo.

"Sure. Wait for me; I need to get my shoes on." With a wave of her wand, her bare feet were dried and the old relics on the shore were transported up to the Ravenclaw common room. Tessa slipped her feet into mismatched neon socks and her bright green converse, then rolled her jeans down to cover her legs.

The three walked into the Great Hall to be met by the usual mounds of food. Kate spied Draco across the room and walked over to join him. Oliver got a few of his friends to move over to make room for Tessa, who fit in like a true Gryffindor. The entire Quidditch team had taken to her like flies to honey.

Draco walked over with Kate and said to Tessa, "Hey, Tess, you mind helping me with my Charms homework?"

Tessa looked up. "Sure, just as long as you look over my Potions essay."

"Deal. Meet me in the library after lunch." Draco walked away, talking animatedly with Kate.

Tessa turned to Oliver. "You okay with that?"

"Yeah. I need to clean my broom for the match tomorrow, anyway."

Angelina leaned across the table. "Not much point, I hear. McGonagall was talking to Sprout, and she said it's going to rain something awful, starting around five in the morning."

"Aw, damn," Oliver sighed. "I'll do it anyway. At least there'll only be one layer of mud after the match."

Tessa scraped her plate. "Who're you playing against, anyway?"

"Hufflepuff. Diggory's really going to have an advantage over Robin."

Tessa made a sympathetic noise, then stood up. "I've got to go meet Draco in the library. See you at dinner."

A smile cracked across her face when she heard Oliver mutter, "And people say boys only think between meals."

She walked out of the hall to the staircase, avoiding two fifth year girls, one blond and the other brunette, whose eyes were shooting daggers at her. The blonde was holding the hand of a Slytherin sixth year. Tessa was just mounting the first step when the brunette called out to her, "How much are you paying him then?"

Tessa stopped, then turned slowly. It was common knowledge that dozens of girls had tried –and failed- to gain Oliver's attention over the last few years. Tessa was the first to become an official girlfriend.

Smiling pleasantly, she said lightly, "I'm glad you asked your friend that question. I was just wondering it a few moments ago."

The poor girl sputtered while her friend turned a shade of red that clashed horribly with her shirt, and the boy shifted rather uncomfortably. Tessa set off back up the stairs to her dorm where she needed to pick up her Potions homework.

Once she picked up her books, Tessa strode through the corridor leading to the library. After a bit of looking, she came across Draco.

Who, incidentally, was practically wrapped around Kate, the two snogging heavily. "Oi," Tessa hissed. "I came here to get help with homework, not to become a voyeur."

Draco broke away, leaving Kate to collapse in a chair, laughing. Draco shot a look at her. "It's not funny."

"Yes, it is, and you know it."

"Really, it would have been funnier if I was Madam Pince," Tessa said reasonably.

"True," Draco said. "Just not to any of us. So, what's your problem with the essay?"

The two sat down at one of the library tables and began to discuss the properties of Morticaine. Kate excused herself to go search for her broom care kit, which had been shoved under her bed at some point.

"You know," Tessa began, "This stuff just freaks me out. Totally undetectable, causes death within seconds of consumption."

"And," Draco added proudly, "It was discovered by Salazar Slytherin."

"Yeah, like that helps with the reassurance bit," Tessa snorted.

Draco grinned and began to read over her essay. "You know it's what finally killed Merlin."

"Sure, that helps with my fear of it, too. One of the greatest wizards who ever lived was killed by this deadly poison."

"He was trying to develop a resistance to it. Apparently it's impossible."

"Stop it!"

"Stop what?" His grin widened. Then he set down the essay. "It's fine. Try adding in a few historical facts about the poison and you'll have it down."

Tessa sighed, relieved. "Thanks. You said you needed help with Charms?"

"Yup. It seems I'll never get this damned subject."

"Maybe it's just one of those things some people don't have a natural talent for."

"Hey! I've got a natural talent for everything. I think it's Flitwick's fault."

"I've always found Flitwick to be one of my best teachers."

"Maybe you're corrupting him."

Tessa laughed. "Yeah, that's likely."

"See! She admits to it!" This proclamation earned him a hush from Madam Pince. "Sorry," he whispered back, and the hawk-like librarian glared at him again.

"So what do you need help with?"

She told him, and they spent a few minutes practicing the spell-until Madam Pince saw them doing magic in her precious library.

"Out! And don't come back until tomorrow!"

Clutching their bags, Tessa and Draco made their ways back to their respective common rooms. Upon entering her room, Tessa found Kate, sprawled out on the floor, inspecting her broom.

"You think it's clean enough?" Kate asked, not looking up.

Her broom was gleaming, the black wood smooth and spotless. The twigs were neatly trimmed and restored, and the silver footholds polished. "Um…you think? Kate, if you spend one more minute rubbing that thing, it'll be so saturated that broom oil will come leaking out in the middle of your game."

"Good. I don't want it damaged if it rains in our game next week."

"It probably will rain, seeing as we're in Scotland."

"I know. That's why I did this."

"Okay. What're we doing until dinner?"

"I figured I'd read for a while."

"Ooh, what book?"

Kate dug under her bed for a second, then pulled out a thin comic book. She proudly displayed the cover. It was _The Adventures of Marten Miggs, the Mad Muggle._

Tessa cracked a grin. "You've got to be kidding me. You're still reading those? I thought your mum made you stop in second year."

"You're right," Kate said. She shoved the issue back under her bed, then withdrew her arm with a second, thicker book, clad in dark green leather. The title read, "_He Flew Like a Madman,_" by Kennilworthy Whisp. "It's about Dai Llewellyn. You know, that guy on the Caerphilly Catapults?"

"Oh, yeah. I was looking everywhere for it last year. Where'd you get it?"

"Draco lent it to me the other day."

"Of course he'd have it."

Kate grinned crookedly. "Yeah, he's got _everything._"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Kate turned back to her broom. "Nothing. Just trying to gross you out."

"You seem to be forgetting that I have a boyfriend to snog, too."

The evil-looking smile was back. "Snog, huh?"

"Someone's got her mind in the gutter today. How much sleep did you get last night?"

"'Round five hours."

"So that's what's up. You always get loopy when you don't get enough sleep. Remember that time we were trying to make that scrapbook for that Durmstrang exchange student, and all you could do was go around saying, 'wisdom' like a robot?"

"Wisdom," said Kate, though she pronounced it more like 'Weezdaum.' "Wisdom!"

"Anyway, I'll leave you to your reading. See you later, best frond."

Tessa turned around and left the dormitory. The endearment she'd used had come about when Professor Sprout had wanted to give them a Muggle lesson on a plant's bits. They had learned that most "leaves" were actually "fronds", and as Kate had been having one of her loopy days, the term "best frond" had been created.

Tessa left the common room, intending to go down to the Quidditch pitch, where she'd accidentally left her broom the previous day, after practice. Her thoughs turned to Fletning, the girl they'd saved, who hadn't been around much. She'd been sorted into Hufflepuff, and was working on catching up with her classmates, so nobody had seen either hide or hair of her.

Tessa entered the locker room, now thinking about where she left her hairbrush. The wind had picked up in the last few hours, and she'd left her hair down today. She opened her locker, got out her hairbrush and her broom, and began to work the tangles out.

After a few minutes, a reasonable amount of hair had been pulled out, and the tangles were no more, so Tessa pulled her waves of coppery hair into a high ponytail, then braided the hair. She secured that and decided to go for a fly.

Pushing off the ground, which was muddy from the recently melted snow, Tessa flew around, marveling at the blue sky. Such a sight was rare in Scotland; it was hard to believe that it would rain the next day. Enjoying the warm weather, she did loops and rolls and practiced the Wronski Feint a few times, pulling up when she was only a few inches above the ground.

Turning around, something caught her eye, twirling and dancing in the wind. She flew quickly to catch up with it, using her Seeker skills to grab hold of it. For a second she stared at it.

It was a small scrap of red velvet. Tessa ran her fingers over the cloth once. It was worn and thin in some places, rubbed so much that she could see the outline of the clouds behind it. She tucked it into her pocket.

**Oliver**

The rest of the week was uneventful. Classes went on as always, homework was done, either on time or not. Quidditch practice was held, new moves were learned, and plans were made. It all led up to what would be the highlight of Oliver's week.

He was still wondering how to make this trip to Hogsmeade special. All things considered, it didn't have to be out of the ordinary, but he thought that Tessa deserved something better. Of course, as Martin said, "You'll always be thinking she deserves better, mate."

It was true. Oliver still felt slightly sick every time he saw the faint white-pink lines crossing her skin, reminders of the horrible few days in Skremmende. He wanted to erase those memories of abuse and pain by giving her everything she could ever want. Of course, every time one of his friends caught him staring at Tessa, some variation of, "you're hopeless," or, "someone's got it bad," was said.

That was true as well. Oliver couldn't imagine his life without Tessa, couldn't imagine what would happen if she was taken by Lineal. Permanently, this time.

Eventually, he decided he would just take her to Hogsmeade, Kate and Draco tagging along. He hoped they wouldn't stay for the entire time. Oliver thought those two were the greatest, but he wanted some time with Tessa. Preferably in an alley, snogging passionately against the wall.

He dressed with particular care that Saturday morning, laughing along with his dorm-mates. They teased him and gave him ridiculous suggestions. He decided on his usual, a tee with a pullover and jeans.

Tessa was waiting for him in the Great Hall. She, too, wasn't dressed in anything fancy: black knee high leather boots, grey jeans, a red tank, and an unbuttoned white oxford shirt. A small brown bag was slung across her body. To Oliver, she looked like a million dollars.

He stole a quick kiss as a greeting, after glancing around to make sure no professors were watching. Not long after, Kate and Draco strolled over. "Shall we go, then?" Tessa asked. They filed out of the door as Filch checked their names on the permission sheet, leering over his clipboard.

Once out of the castle, the four took a leisurely pace to the town. Kate and Tessa talked animatedly to each other about their roommate's new boyfriend. Draco and Oliver hung back in companionable silence. It was one of those things that guys can do, just walk without having to say a thing.

Entering Hogsmeade, Oliver saw his classmates crowding around Honeydukes. A rainbow, chocolate-scented mist was flowing out of the shop, swirling over the students' shoes. The four bypassed Honeydukes, though, and continued on to the Three Broomsticks.

Butterbeers arrived. In between sips, Tessa reached into her jeans pocket and pulled out a small scrap of red cloth. She examined it, rubbed it between her fingers, and slid it over the tabletop.

"What's that?" Kate asked.

"I found it when I was on the pitch a couple days ago. It was just flying in the wind."

"Can I see it?"

Tessa passed it over. "It's very well loved."

"It looks like it was cut from a dress, like the ones we saw when we went to the Muggle Renaissance fair over the summer."

"It does. A petticoat, maybe."

This sort of conversation had Draco and Oliver completely nonplussed. They began a conversation about Quidditch.

Tessa looked up, tucking the scrap of velvet back into her pocket. "Should we go? I need some new ink."

Kate looked mournfully at her watch. "I've got to get a new potions book. I dropped my last one into my cauldron accidentally. Come with me, Draco?"

Draco got up and the two groups separated. As they were walking down the street, Oliver asked, "You didn't really need new ink, did you?"

"Of course not," Tessa said matter-of-factly. "I can't just start snogging you in front of my best friend and her boyfriend."

"It doesn't seem to stop them."

"True…"

Oliver grabbed Tessa's hand and went to pull her into a side street from the crowded cobblestones. She went willingly, grinning.

A crack echoed through Diagon Alley. Oliver's expression froze and quickly turned to stone. Tessa didn't turn around.

"What's going on?" she asked through the hush.

"He's here. Lineal."


	16. Interrogation

"So you think you could beat me, girl," Lineal drawled. "By running away like the little coward you are."

Tessa turned slowly to face the prince. "I never ran away from you. I merely attempted to help you back to your reality by retreating from your life."

Small frown lines of confusion appeared between Lineal's brows. "Isn't that the same thing?"

"If you say so."

"This is ridiculous," Lineal fumed. "You are coming with me now. Get these arses out of the way." He gestured widely and six purple and gold clad guards dropped down to the cobblestones. They began to mill around the watching civilians, shoving them out of the way.

Tessa glanced up and saw a dozen more guards, hovering over the area. "Where will you take me?"

Oliver, behind her, grasped at her arm. "Tessa, please, no, don't do this."

She shook off his arm and continued to watch Lineal.

"If you do not come with us, we will kill every one of these people."

"I didn't ask what you would do. I asked where you will take me."

"That is not information I would care to disclose."

"Give me the general area."

"Far from Skremmende."

There was a long pause. The watching crowd had begun to disperse, whispering fearfully.

"What will you do to my friends?"

The question seemed to startle Lineal. This new, calculating Tessa was unnerving him. "I-I will kill them. Slowly. I will take them from here and kill them in an order which will be most painful."

Tessa shuddered, though she doubted anyone but Oliver could see. Would he really do this? Would he take Oliver and Kate and Draco and kill them, though they had nothing to do with this?

"All right. I'll go."

"No!" Oliver grabbed her arms and turned her towards him. "You don't want to do this. Please."

Tessa brought her hands up and cradled Oliver's face. "Of course I don't want to. But if I don't, you'll die."

"Take me with you. Do something."

"I won't. If you come with, there won't be anyone to tell Dumbledore. Lineal is overlooking some serious details, including witnesses. If you can manage it, try placing a tracing charm on me. Do it right before I leave so it will last the longest."

Oliver closed his eyes and sighed. "I can't get you to stay, can I?"

"No."

"I love you. Don't let him hurt you. And don't kill him, because I'm saving that chance."

Tessa smiled wryly. "I love you too."

For a second, Oliver grasped her to him in a tight embrace and met her mouth with his. She kissed him back eagerly, but pulled back after a mournfully short time.

Tessa turned and walked to Lineal. "I'm coming. How are we traveling?"

"Apparition."

Tessa stood still as Lineal waved two of his trolls over. They grabbed her roughly and turned her so she faced Oliver. She saw his jaw clench tightly, but otherwise he had no reaction.

They yanked her arms behind her back until sharp knives of pain were spearing through her back and shoulders. More followed through her wrists as a rough, thin line was tied forcefully around both hands. It immediately started to chafe at her skin.

Thus secured, a fine length of fabric was pushed up against Tessa's mouth. She bared her teeth and let it through, trying not to taste the dry threads.

She shook her head at Oliver, trying to tell him to set the tracing charm. Her head turned from side to side, but she froze when she felt the chill of a blade at her throat.

Lineal's voice came from the side of her and the knife pressed further into her neck.

"Don't try to follow us. If I get any idea that you have tried to find me, I will kill her, make no mistake."

Oliver stood at the mouth of the alley. The sun was beginning to set, and there were no more students in sight. He managed a frozen nod.

As Lineal began to turn in the beginning of Apparition, Tessa saw Oliver raise his wand. Whether he finished the charm before they disappeared, she didn't know.

They arrived in a darkened, bare room. A single candle hung from the ceiling, creating a foreboding atmosphere.

Lineal motioned to the trolls and they dragged Tessa to a chair in the center of the room. It all reminded her dryly of a Muggle spy movie she'd once seen.

She sat down, hard, in the chair. The trolls began to bind her tightly to the wooden limbs of it.

The light from the candle was beginning to hurt her eyes. She could feel small drops of blood trickling down her hands where the line was beginning to ingrain its path in her wrists.

Lineal stood in front of her. "Do you know why you're here?"

Tessa thought for a moment, then shook her head. No.

"You're probably wondering why here, not Skremmende. You are destined to become my wife, after all."

There was a pause. Tessa peered confusedly up through the blinding light at the prince.

"I need some information from you."

Tessa's eyes widened. What did he need that she knew?

"It's something that you were told, girl. A long time ago. I need to know it."

Fear began to overtake Tessa's cool mask and she shook her head wildly. A sharp pain flew across her face as once of the trolls backhanded her. A small cut opened on the lower edge of her eye.

"Sire," a voice came from the shadows. "She can't tell you if she's gagged."

"Ah. Very right, Quinn." A guard hurried forward and untied the gag. Tessa worked her tongue a couple times, getting it used to the newfound freedom. She looked around for this Quinn, but saw nothing.

"Why don't you come and introduce yourself, Quinn?" Lineal was looking to the left of him. Tessa glanced in that direction as well and saw a tall figure detach itself from the shadows.

"This, girl, is a very good friend of mine. Martin Quinn. We met a few years ago."

"Miss Feire." Quinn's deep voice soothed Tessa's bruised senses.

"How do you know my name?"

"You're all Lineal's been able to talk about for ages, my dear. I feel like I've already met you."

Tessa snorted and turned back to Lineal. "I don't know what you want."

"I think you do."

Tessa's head was thrown forward as another smack was delivered to the back of her head. Her vision swam for a moment, and she felt the blood trickling down her arms and cheek. "I swear I don't."

"And I swear you do. I'll let you think about it for tonight."

Suddenly, the room was vacated, but the light remained. Its unwavering flame drove a headache through Tessa's temples, and she groaned. More flighty streaks of pain stung through her head and wrists. A sudden exhaustion flew over her, and she fell into a restless sleep.

She was woken rudely by another knife at her throat. The light still burned at her eyes. Lineal stood in front of her again, with the looming shadow of Quinn in the background.

"Have you figured it out?"

Tessa started to answer, "No," when the arm tightened around her windpipe. Her eyes filled with tears as the knife started to cut through her skin, but she blinked them away and tried to focus on breathing.

"Think back, girl. Ever been told something secret? By a brother, perhaps? Or your mother?"

All Tessa could think of was her sudden overwhelming thirst. Her mouth dried up and her stomach pinched in its emptiness. She tried to speak, but a fist reached her first. Another cut split along her jawline and began to drip down her neck, joining the blood already there from the thin line drawn from the knife.

The blade moved down her throat and to where her neck met her back. "Think, Theresa. Have you been treated as a living secret? Let in on some knowledge that only your family possesses?"

She thought. Memories popped out from the recesses of her mind, smothering the sting of the knife pressing harder into her spine.

"If you do not get me that information, I will have my guard shove that knife through your back. You will be paralyzed for life."

"Why don't you just take it from me?" Tessa's broken croak seemed to surprise Lineal. "Just grab a Pensieve. Or with Veritaserum. It's all the same."

"Ah- well, yes, I don't think that's the- well-"

"What his Majesty is trying to say, Miss Feire," Quinn said slowly, "is that your memories will produce a certain amount of confusion for us. Your younger self that remembers being told this information did not understand it, and therefore, anyone who views or hears the memory will not be able to grasp it either."

"Exactly, thank you, Quinn." Lineal sighed with relief. "So, do you? Do you remember?"

Tessa's thoughts, still flying up at her, circled around one moment that she was certain contained the information he wanted. It was her and her father in their library.

_Come here, Theresa. I have something for you._

She willingly obeyed, eager at the prospect of a gift.

_This is something you will never tell anyone, understand? Not even Mummy._

_Not even Mummy, _She agreed.

_You are a from a special family, _he began, _and therefore we have special things. There is a place, far from here, where our ancestors have kept their treasures. It's full of magic, wealth, everything anyone could imagine._

_Why?_

_Because there is another family out there. They will try to take it, take you. If you know this is here, and you know that it is vital that you do not tell anyone, it will be safe._

_Why tell me?_

_Because the more you know, the better off you are. You are strong, Theresa. You will be able to withstand this family._

_Where is it?_

_You will know. When you need to know, you will._

Another view flooded her mind_. A dark cellar filled with shelves. Thousands of jars stocked the shelves, with more piled up on the ground. An arch led from the room into another, more wealth peeking from the doorway. Above, sunlight poured into the cellar._

Words came to her._ Europe, but east. North of Africa. Somewhere in Siberia. An oasis on the outskirts of Omsk._

So this is what Lineal wanted to know.

A slap threw Tessa back to the present. She gasped in air, then expelled it in a short cry.

Lineal looked pleased. "So you do know. Tell me. Now."

Tessa shook her head, still breathing hard. Another cry escaped her as the knife sliced down her spine, opening her shirt wide in the back. The attacks continued, long, uneven stripes cutting through her previously unmarked flesh. The beatings battered her face, an unfaltering assault that brought blood coating her skin.

It stopped abruptly. "Good night, Miss Feire." Lineal and his entourage trouped out of the room.

Her injuries throbbed and bled unpleasantly. A sheen of sweat and blood covered her, making her feel unbearably dirty.

Small groans continued to escape her lips. Slowly her awareness of her wounds faded, bringing her thirst and overall emptiness to the forefront of her mind. Pangs shook her stomach, emphasizing her cries. Tears dripped from her eyes, and she licked desperately at her bloodied, salty lips, trying to alleviate her dry mouth.

The light flickered out. Her vision disappeared, but she was grateful for the reprieve on her eyes.

When Tessa finally fell asleep, she didn't dream. And when she woke, there was no one. No light, no people, no sound. Her emptiness tortured her senses, crying out for satiation.

Barely lucid, she cried out as well. Cried for water, or food, or just the presence of another human being. The lack of stimulation frightened her, as if she was dead and just didn't know it. It sunk in then, that she may not see Oliver again, or Kate. But if she really was going to die, then she would die in defiance.

The isolation continued, a torture a thousand times worse than any bite of the knife.


	17. Rescue, almost reunited

**Tessa**

She didn't know when the man approached in the dark. It broke her out of her half-doze, making her jump. She winced as the wounds on her back cracked open again.

"Miss Feire," the slow, measured voice came to her, "Wake up."

Tessa blinked blearily. "Who is it?"

"It's Quinn. I have water." The dark shadow shifted and she could barely make out his form.

She was immediately on edge. "You work with Lineal. Why are you giving helping me?"

"I don't. I'm an Auror with the Ministry. He trusts me because it was my job to get close to him."

Tessa made an unintelligible noise of relief and arched her head up in order to allow him to tip a flask toward her mouth. The cool water filled her mouth and she gripped the flask with her teeth. Quinn relinquished it and tapped the ropes binding her with his wand. They fell away and, draining the flask, she fell forward to her knees in front of the chair.

"I have your wand. I'll get it to you when we get out," he said, and she groped around in the darkness before she found him. He supported her weak form with one hand and helped pull her up to her feet. She leaned unsteadily against him for a few seconds before letting him guide her in the direction she hoped was the door.

"Where's Lineal?" She croaked, her mouth wet but still craving more water.

"In bed. He might be a monster, but he still has to sleep."

They reached the wall and he tapped the wall with his wand in a complicated pattern. The stone melted away to reveal a pine forest. The chilled air swept over Tessa and she breathed in.

"We can get to some light and I'll mend your cuts," Quinn said. "It's risky to do it in the dark. Might pull together some bits that don't need it."

Tessa was too dazed to realize his joke. He sighed and helped her stumble off again into the woods. Exhaustion and hunger tore at her and she struggled to continue.

After a few minutes, she fell into the soft needle-coated underbrush. Quinn swore and bent down next to her. "We're going too slowly," he said. "I'm going to carry you. Please don't resist me, Miss Feire. If we continue at our current pace, you will freeze before we reach safety."

The cold finally reached Tessa and she let Quinn lift her from the ground. The heat radiating through his cloak attracted her like a moth to light and she reveled in the warmth.

It felt like hours before she could finally make out a dim outline in the darkness. Quinn approached the building. The door magically opened and he stepped through. "_Lumos,__**" **_he whispered, and as his wand ignited, Tessa saw a sparsely furnished, one room cabin with a cast iron stove, two cabinets, and one table. Quinn shut the door and set Tessa down on the table.

"Miss Feire, I need you to stay awake. I'm going to heal your wounds and as soon as you eat, we're going to Apparate back to Hogwarts."

Quinn lit a lantern hanging over the table. She cringed, remembering the bare candle in Lineal's stronghold. He glanced at her and moved the lantern to sit beside him, out of her sight. He cast his wand over her face and she felt the bruises recede from her battered face, the cuts close and the blood siphon off. He moved to her arms. The chafing disappeared and the stretched, torn muscles in her shoulders mended.

"I'm going to turn you over. Do the cuts go all the way down?"

Tessa nodded stiffly as Quinn slipped his hands carefully under her and flipped her slowly to her stomach. Her jacket came off and he split open the back of her shirt. The slices through her skin healed and, mercifully, the last of the pain flew away.

With a last tap, Tessa's shirt was repaired and she stiffly sat up on the table to her knees.

"Have you got more water?" She swung her legs over the edge and grabbed the wood for support as they threatened to collapse beneath her.

"Right here." Quinn handed her a bottle. She drained it in seconds and immediately felt better.

"How long was I there?"

Her question seemed to surprise Quinn. "Four days."

She was taken aback. "I haven't eaten in four days?"

Quinn turned away and rummaged in one of the cabinets. He returned with a bar of Honeydukes' chocolate. "Eat this," he said. "It'll hold you over until we can get you something real."

Tessa quickly broke off a piece. It melted wonderfully in her mouth and she reveled in the taste of something other than her own saliva. The moment she finished the bar, Quinn took her arm and led her outside.

"Ready?"

She nodded, and they spun.

**Oliver**

He was exhausted during class. Kate had tried to coax him into his dormitory to sleep, but he resisted her efforts and remained in the common room, staring resolutely at the fire. He needed Tessa; at the very least, he needed to know if she was okay.

She had been gone three days already. They were three days in which Oliver had gotten next to no sleep and barely eaten. He was almost literally dying for some form of information. It was horrible not knowing.

Kate was barely faring better. She had slept more but all the meals that she took were with Oliver, which were few and far between. Draco hovered over her, trying to convince both of them that starving themselves would do nothing for Tessa. Still, neither of them could eat much more than a slice of shepherd's pie before having to stand and worry some more.

They were in McGonagall's classroom when a small, frightened looking second year edged into the room. The professor looked sharply at him but continued her class without missing a beat. The boy nervously scanned the room, then made a beeline for Kate, moving as quickly as possibly without looking up.

"Ka..kate S-sato?" the boy stuttered.

Kate looked up kindly. "Yes?"

"Y-you're supposed to go with Oliver W-Wood to Professor Dumbledore's office."

Kate looked to Oliver. They both stood up and followed the boy out of the room. McGonagall spared them no more than a glance and a nod before turning back to her lesson.

The boy split off to one of the hallways, presumably to his own class. Oliver and Kate continued on to the Headmaster's quarters. His anxiety increased with every step. Had Tessa been found? Was she okay? Or had she been forcibly married in a sick ceremony to a sick prince? Maybe Lineal had given up and just…killed her.

He shuddered and looked over at Kate. She looked just as ill as Oliver felt. They continued their slow walk down the corridors and he tried to resist the feeling that it was a funeral march. Tessa couldn't be dead. He had just managed to get a hold of her a few months ago, the months that had to have been the happiest of his life. And now she was taken from him again. She just couldn't be dead.

Yet as every step passed, his conviction that there must be something wrong grew. Tessa was completely alone wherever she was and with a workforce like Lineal's, there wasn't much chance that she could get out without help. He hadn't even managed to place the tracing spell properly. All he could do was hope that it had been sufficiently strong and undetectable.

Kate gave the password to the moving staircase and they stepped on. The door swung open the second they approached it. Apprehension filled Oliver and he had the sudden urge to run, but he pushed it away and they entered the room.

Dumbledore sat behind his trinket-covered desk as always, looking serene and calm. Next to him was a large, threatening looking man. The two seemed to be in an intense discussion.

"-the stash cannot be left be, if Lineal takes her again and attempts to dig through her mind despite what I told him-"

"There is nothing to be done at the moment, Quinn. You may have made the prince believe you, but he continues to trust you and is naïve enough to not question your information."

"Headmaster-" the two noticed Kate and Oliver.

"Ah, Mr. Wood, Miss Sato. I was expecting you," the headmaster said amiably. "Sit down, please. Allow me to introduce you to Martin Quinn. He's an Auror from the Ministry assigned to keep an eye on Lineal."

Kate held out her hand to Quinn. "I'm Kate Sato. A good friend of Tessa's."

Quinn took it. "A pleasure, Miss Sato. I believe Miss Feire has mentioned you once or twice." He turned to Oliver. "Mr. Wood," he smiled slightly. "She has mentioned you more than twice, I think."

Oliver shook his hand and turned to Dumbledore. Unable to keep it in through the pleasantries anymore, he asked, "Where's Tessa?"

"She is resting," Dumbledore said, dodging his question neatly.

"But where is she? How is she?"

Quinn interjected. "Miss Fiere was subjected to torture, starvation, and isolation during her brief stay with Lineal. We are afraid that any exposure to unfamiliar people will crack through the hold she has on reality."

Oliver was startled. He opened his mouth to speak but Kate interrupted him angrily. "We aren't unfamiliar! I've known Tessa since we were six!"

"As of now, you are unfamiliar. A lot has taken place in the past few days and Miss Feire has seen seldom more than three separate people in that time."

"What difference should that make? She knows both of us! She shouldn't need a re-introduction to normal life. You can't treat her like a China doll."

Dumbledore came back into the conversation. "Though I must agree with Quinn's views, I don't think that either Miss Sato or Mr. Wood present much of a threat to her sanity. I shall tell Madame Pomfrey that they are allowed to visit for thirty minutes a day each, but they must be alone."

Both of the students and the Auror looked satisfied at this answer. "So she's in the Hospital Wing?" Oliver asked hopefully.

"Not precisely. Madame Pomfrey has taken an empty adjacent classroom for Miss Feire's protection. It is under a form of the Fidelius Charm that we will have to guide you to.

"Can we go, then?"

Dumbledore rose, a small smile on his face. "I suppose."


	18. Love, Sleep

**Hey, school has started and I've got about a million hours of homework a day...so be patient, please, and bear with me! Super short chapter-I have to go to bed and I'm not going to have any time tomorrow-so very sorry, honestly. But I will try to update again over thanksgiving break.**

Oliver

When he finally was able to see Tessa, it was as if a thousand pounds of stress had been blown off his shoulders. She was standing and talking quietly with Quinn, who had gone into the room a few minutes before. Again, Oliver heard whispered mentions of a "hoard" and "treasure." They cut off when Kate and Oliver entered.

Tessa walked painfully over to Oliver, where he caught her up in a tight embrace. She held him just as hard, burying her face in his neck. He kissed her hair and barely noticed Quinn and Dumbledore taking their leave. After a few minutes, Kate cleared her throat and he relinquished the battered girl in his arms, leaving her to talk happily with her best friend.

As he watched her, the pain from her injuries seemed to fade from her face as she forgot about it in her joy. A smile spread upon his own face and there was a knock on the door. Oliver went to open it and found Draco standing there.

He looked over Oliver's shoulder. "Hey Tessa! Glad you're back! Sorry to break up the party, but I've got a date with my girlfriend." A sheepish, guilty smile curved his mouth and Kate looked over.

"Oh, Draco! I'm sorry! I've got to go, guys," she said, rushing out, "have fun though!"

And then Oliver and Tessa were alone. He walked over to her and kissed her gently. She responded fervently, holding him close to her. He felt her lips smile under his and wrapped his arms around her.

When she finally pulled back, he sat her down in a chair and asked the question that had been burning at him since he'd overheard Quinn and Dumbledore's conversation earlier.

"So what is the treasure?"

Tessa looked up at him in surprise. "What do you know about that?"

"Practically nothing. I've just heard Quinn and you and Dumbledore talking about it a lot."

Tessa sighed. "Even I don't know much about it. My family apparently has a treasure trove that my grandparents hid during the first pureblood war to keep it out of You-Know-Who's hands. Lineal heard of it and now he's after it."

"Where is it?"

"In Russia, we think. My father told me a very long time ago."

"And what do you want to do with it?"

"I don't know, Oliver." She sighed again. "We'll probably move it somewhere and let it be. None of my family has any use for it."

"When will you do it?"

"This summer, probably." She wrapped her arms around his waist. "Will you sit with me?"

They sat together on the couch in the abandoned classroom. Tessa snuggled into the crook of his shoulder and yawned. "I've only slept sixteen hours in the last five days, and you make a good pillow. You either better be just as tired as I am, or have something entertaining up your sleeve, or you're going to be very bored for the next few hours."

Oliver smiled. "I'll be just fine."


	19. Leaving, Worrying

**Gah…I really need to update more often. I feel really guilty but I have no time. Also, I'm thinking that this will be either the last or the second to last chapter. Leave me some reviews! I'll make it an ending that could be continued or left as it is. Let me know if I should put one more in there.**

Oliver

Tessa woke after many hours, when, the sun just beginning to sink behind the peaks of the Forbidden Forest, Quinn quietly opened the door to the room. Oliver, despite his earlier promise to Tessa, had grown quite numb, but hadn't moved for fear of waking her.

When she stirred at Quinn's murmured greeting, Oliver sent a relieved, grateful look. Tessa sat up, ran her hands through her hair, and stumbled off to the bathroom. Oliver immediately stood and tried to work out the pins that were shooting though his hands and legs.

"Long day?" Quinn chuckled, watching Oliver's winces. "Anyway, I've been making my rounds. I'm returning to the Ministry tonight. Thought I'd go let everyone know that they'll have to miss me until summer."

"You came in here just to say goodbye?"

"Well, to tell you the truth, I was looking for Dumbledore. But just because I found you doesn't mean I'm just going to ignore you."

"Uh…thanks. I think."

Quinn grinned crookedly. "No problem, kid." He held out his hand. "'Til next time?"

Oliver shook it and scowled. "Yeah, sure, old man. This summer?"

"If you'll be in Omsk, yeah."

"And…uh…thanks. For getting Tessa out of there."

Quinn nodded and turned to go.

"Quinn?" Tessa's voice came out from the bathroom doorway. She was still exhausted but looking a bit less disheveled. "Thank you."

"Of course, Miss Feire. Any enemy of Lineal's is a friend of mine. And speaking of Lineal..."

"Speaking of Lineal what?"

"The Aurors got him last night. He's on trial and his only possible options are Akzaban, the Kiss, or permanent house arrest."

"Permanent house arrest? Compared to Azkaban?"

Quinn shrugged. "That's only if he chooses to plead innocent by insanity."

Oliver cut in. "And none of us will be asked to testify?"

"No. There was enough proof in the rooms where Tessa was held alone to lock him up. The Wizengamot is deliberating his sentence right now."

"But he hasn't even put his plea in yet! Don't you think that's a bit harsh?"

Oliver looked over to Tessa. "Tess. If he manages house arrest…There's a chance he could get out. Azkaban is only the second safest option for you right now. Don't argue this, please."

Tessa sighed. "I suppose. But I'm sure Dumbledore will be able to explain it again once I'm more fit to understand. I'm going back to bed. Thank you again, Quinn. Oliver, you can go if you want."

Oliver and Quinn exited the room together and parted ways. On his way down to dinner, Oliver saw Kate and Draco making their way down as well.

"Oliver!" Kate exclaimed when she saw him. "How's Tess?"

"Sleeping. Nearly cut off all circulation to my legs for a few hours, too."

Draco laughed. "Ah, the joys of being a guy. Not only do you get to buy for all the dinners, you get to be a pillow as well."

Kate hit him on the arm. "You know you love it."

"It's certainly worth it."

Oliver cleared his throat jokingly. "I'm still here, guys."

Kate nudged him. "Duh. Why do you think there was no snogging going on?"

"Well, I'm sorry to be such a roadblock in your relationship. My own snogging partner is upstairs sleeping. Forgive me for needing some companionship," Oliver grinned.

Kate gasped. "I can't believe you just called my best friend a snogging partner! Is that all she is to you?" A small smile fought at her lips.

Draco spoke up. "That's all you are to me."

"Draco Malfoy! The mean fairy must have shoved something down your throat, and if you deny that I will pull it out of there along with your tongue."

Draco stopped walking. "What?"

"You heard me." Oliver could still see Kate struggling not to laugh.

"You, my dear, have been watching way too much Game of Thrones."

"How do you know about that?"

"Not all purebloods are idiots about Muggle entertainment."

Oliver was confused. "Game of Thrones?"

Kate launched into an extended explanation about a book series turned into a television show in which a savage and overly protective tribe leader rips a man's tongue directly out of his throat for insulting his wife and queen.

"That's enough, Kate. We're going to dinner, after all."

"I really wasn't thinking about Drogo at all, Draco. But I swear the mean fairy must have visited you."

"I don't know who the mean fairy is, or what he shoved down my throat but I won't deny that he came to me because I actually don't doubt that you will pull a Drogo."

Oliver shook his head, completely lost, and continued down to dinner on his own. Before he left, he heard Kate exclaim, "No! Wait, you _are _the mean fairy! That makes no sense!"

"Kate, you need more sleep," Draco said, and Oliver's mind turned to other things.

It didn't occur to him until later that Kate may have been up all night worrying about her best friend. He knew he had.

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><p><strong>I got kinda stuck. It moved somewhere, what with Quinn leaving, so the story is wrapping up. Hang in there! and review please!<strong>


	20. Chapter 20

**Short, last chapter. It ends rather abruptly, but funnily and everything is really set out, I think. If you want an epilogue, tell me and I'll see what I can do, but please let me know what you think in any case. Reviews make my world turn.**

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><p>It wasn't a warm day in Omsk. The sky was covered in a layer of stormy clouds and the wind nipped sharply at their backs. The small house in front of them seemed liable to topple over at any time.<p>

"You're sure this is the place?" Tessa asked Quinn. "It hardly looks as though there's any treasure here."

"This is where the blokes from Magical Artifacts said it was, and I think they came out here a few months ago."

"Well, I guess we won't know until we look."

Oliver and Tessa waited as Quinn circled the area, disabling any wards or traps that had been set. Finally, after several minutes, Quinn turned to them.

"You can go in now."

Tessa approached the door hesitantly, as though she thought it would bite her. When the handle turned easily in her palm and the door swung open, she turned around to look at Oliver. "Stay behind me," she muttered and looked inside.

The room was empty. The windows were broken, the walls peeling with paint, and the one room that made up the entire house was desolate and entirely bare.

"What kind of treasure is this?" Oliver's bewildered voice followed her into the building.

"There's a trapdoor on the floor here. I've seen it."

Quinn stepped in and began casting protective spells around them. Oliver and Tessa felt at the floor when Oliver's fingers curled around something. "Here it is. I've got the ring, it's been disguised."

Tessa's hand felt over his until she grasped the ring he held. With one heavy tug, the door swung up from the wooden floor.

It was completely pitch dark, but Tessa could see the glint of glass. With one hand, she cast a _lumos_, and with the other swung down into the cellar.

It wasn't gold. It took Tessa a few moments to realize what kind of treasure this was. Not the treasure of a rich man, but one that didn't care about money. The room was full of scrolls, jars, and cauldrons.

A wizard's treasure.

There were several rooms of it, thousands of bottles and cases of priceless potions and ingredients. Just across the cellar, Tessa saw, there were a few small jugs labeled "_Pheonix Tears"_. She was inclined to believe them.

She heard Quinn's gasp of amazement as he followed her and Oliver into the cellar. Stepping over the piles of jars and empty cages, Tessa picked up a book at random and opened it.

The pages inside were roughly bound and hand-written, a journal of some sort. As she read, Tessa found hundreds of spells, some useful, some gruesome. All of these incantations, hidden for hundreds of years, were just being discovered. Looking around, Tessa could see just in this room many other books lining the shelves.

"The Ministry will want to investigate this, Miss Feire." Quinn's low voice interrupted her explorations.

"Let them," she said. "I have no doubt that much of the spells here are too dangerous to be revealed to the public, and they still lie in my family's possession. They don't have the ability to confiscate it, either."

"And what should be done with it all once the investigation is through?"

"Open another few rooms on my family's vault in Gringotts. Keep them protected with the goblin-touch doors."

Quinn nodded and Tessa went back to the book. She found several detection spells similar to_ Revelio _and one or two wandless that could have come in handy while she was captive to Lineal.

Suddenly, there was a thump behind her and she turned just in time to see Kate barreling towards her with a huge grin on her face. "Tess! I haven't seen you all summer!"

Tessa hugged her friend back and greeted Draco over her shoulder. "I didn't think you'd be able to come, Draco."

Draco opened his mouth, but Quinn interrupted. "How did you two get through the wards I replaced on the house?"

"Uh…Well," Draco looked at his feet. "I, er, know a few tricks from my father."

Quinn sent him a glare and turned back to the scroll he was studying.

"Anyway, Tessa," Draco said, answering her previous question, "I snuck out. There are more than a few advantages to an unmonitored Floo network. Mum actually thinks I'm at Blaise's home right now, and his mum thinks he's at mine."

"And where's Blaise?"

Draco coughed.

Tessa and Kate laughed. Oliver was somewhere in another one of the rooms, and they all wandered around, picking up objects at random.

"Hey, Tess, know what this is?" Kate held up an average-looking teacup.

"No idea. At first glance, I'd say it's a teacup."

Kate held it up to her eye. With a shriek, she barely managed to dodge the fist that came out of it.

"What was that?"  
>"I- I don't know! It tried to punch me!"<p>

"Give it here," Oliver said, with a small, slow smile on his face. "I have a few Beaters who could do a thing or two with that."

And thus, the punching telescope was created.

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><p><strong>Remember, I'll see what I can do if you want an epilogue. Please, oh please review, this box down here could definitely use some filling.<strong>


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